The CIM-2000 Scorpene class diesel-electric attack submarine partnership was just the first step for Spain’s Navantia, as it joined with France’s DCNS to enter the global submarine market. Now Navantia is building on that base of expertise, to field its own S-80 Class for the Spanish Armada. Spain’s new submarines will be larger boats than Navantia/DCNS’ Scorpene Class, with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems as standard gear, and completely new designs for both external shape and internal systems.

This article will cover the S-80 submarines’ capabilities and associated key events and contracts – including sub-contracts to American, British, and Italian firms.

S-80 Submarines: Program & Schedule

S74 Tramontana
(click to view full)

Spain’s existing fleet comprises 3 Galerna (Agosta) Class diesel-electric submarines, delivered from 1983 – 1985. S72 Sirocco was decommissioned in 2012, and the S-80 program’s scheduled 1st delivery in 2015 will make it challenging for Spain to keep its fleet in operation.

Spain can’t be accused of poor planning, or lack of foresight. The S-80 program actually had its genesis in 1989, but it wasn’t until 1997 that Spain’s Armada began defining its objectives more clearly. A final project definition contract was signed in 2002, by which time Spanish shipbuilders had already developed the Scorpene Class submarine alongside France’s DCNS, and begun construction for Chile. Scorpene is an advanced SSK design, and can be upgraded to AIM-2000 configuration by adding MESMA Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems alongside their diesel-electric drives.

Navantia S-80 concept
(click to view full)

Spain decided not to adopt the Scorpene class, however, and in March 2004, a contract was signed with IZAR (now Navantia) to build 4 S-80 submarines. As of August 2011, El Pais pegs the program’s budget at EUR 2.136 billion.

Initial delivery was supposed to take place in 2011, with all 4 submarines operational by 2011-2014. At present, however, the first-of-class S81 isn’t expected until 2015, with the 4th boat arriving in 2018-2019. They will be named:

• S81 Isaac Peral. One of the 1st people to build and test a military submarine.
  
• S82 Narciso Monturiol. He invented the 1st combustion engine-driven submarine, Inctineo, in 1859.
  
• S83 Cosme Garcia. Invented a submersible, Garcibuzo, in 1859.
  
• S84 Mateo Garcia de los Reyes. Commanded the Armada’s 1st submarine, the original Narciso Monturiol (A-1), in 1917.

A second batch of S-80 submarines may be ordered after 2014, which would bring Spain’s total to 8, but that country’s deep fiscal woes have left it with a 2011 defense budget of just EUR 7 billion, against about EUR 35 billion as the estimated cost of about 19 key modernization programs over time. Since procurement is just a minority share of the defense budget, the math isn’t promising for a Spanish follow-on buy.

The S-80 Submarines

QinetiQ rendering
(click to view full)

Spain’s S-80 submarines will be an entirely new and larger ship class that builds upon Navantia’s recent submarine experience, rather than a modified version of the more well-known AIM 2000 Scorpene AIP boats. It will share some key technology developments, however, including Air-Independent Propulsion.

AIP changes the parameters for diesel-electric submarines. As an example, a standard CM-2000 Scorpene can operate underwater for 4-6 days, without surfacing or snorkeling to get oxygen to recharge its batteries. Once it does that, of course, it becomes much more vulnerable to detection by planes, surface radars, etc. In contrast, an AIM-2000 Scorpene AIP is able to operate underwater for up to 18 days, depending on variables like speed, etc. Each Scorpene AIP system costs around $50-60 million, and adds a new 8.3 meter (27 foot), 305 tonne hull section to a Scorpene Class submarine.

AIP won’t be optional on the S-80, it will be an integral feature that’s built in from the start.

S-80 Specifications

The Spanish Armada lists the S-80′s intended displacement as 2,400t, far larger than the 1,870t AM-2000 Scorpene with AIP. They’re quite similar in length, at 70.5 vs. 70m, but Navantia and the Spanish government list the S-80 as rather wider than the Scorpene: 7.3 meters, vs. 6.2 meters for the AIM-2000. Size improves submarine capacity in a number of ways, and larger boats are often seen as having a greater range of action. That isn’t always true, however, so it’s important to compare published statistics.

There are persistent reports that Spain’s S-80s will deploy UGM-109 Tomahawk sea-launched land attack cruise missiles in addition to their usual armament. The Spanish Aramada site certainly includes a land attack role for the subs as one of the desired capabilities, and the S-80 Class’ increased size and Lockheed-led combat system should make it possible to add Tactical Tomahawks without a lot of fuss, or compromise of its other roles. Tomahawk missiles could also be deployed on Spain’s F100 Alvaro de Bazan Class AEGIS frigates, of course, which already have the Mk41 vertical launching system and AEGIS combat system to accommodate them. The Spanish government has been very reticent about its plans to buy or use these weapons.

S-80: Industrial Team

One of the most interesting trends to observe as one watches the Spanish contracts being issued is the consistent choice of equipment: a UTC AIP instead of the French MESMA, a Lockheed combat system instead of the SUBTICS from France’s Thales/Armaris, etc. These choices serve to clearly differentiate the S-80 from DCNS’ AIM/CM-2000 Scorpenes, while also minimizing avenues for retaliation by French companies.

As a side benefit, these choices also position the S-80 as an option for countries that prefer American naval weapons and technologies. If Navantia wants to extend its production line, it will probably need to rely on exports. Since the USA doesn’t make diesel-electric submarines, Navantia can step in with a competitive offering for the export market. Nacvantia’s Memorandum of Understanding with Lockheed Martin MS2 is part of that push.

Nor is the USA Spain’s only industrial partner. Several British firms have also become involved, which leverages technologies developed for the Royal Navy’s all-nuclear submarine fleet. Industrial partners in the S-80 program include:

S-80 Submarines: Contracts & Events

Building S81
(click to view full)

Unless otherwise noted, contracts are from the Spanish Armada (Navy), either directly to Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, or through Navantia as the prime contractor and integrator if issued to other firms.

May 19-20/13: Sinking feeling. Spanish media report that the S-80 design has, or had (it’s not clear which), a buoyancy problem. According to EL Mundo, EUR 530 had been spent on the design contract before Navantia’s own engineers flagged the issue. Resolution reportedly requires either removing weight, or lengthening the submarine at a cost of about EUR 7.5 million per meter.

At the same time, the reports stumble on an even more important issue for the submarines: a lot of re-work and improvisation, because the Ministry of Defence keeps adding new requirements. That kind of thing is obviously harmful to schedule and budgets, but it can also lead to serious technical issues. Spain’s The Local.

May 2/13: Australia out. The Labor government’s 2013 defense white paper rejects the safer and quicker options of buying or modifying an existing class from abroad. Instead, they’ll focus on options #3 & 4: an evolved design of the Collins Class, or a completely new Australian design. It isn’t really a loss for the S-80; rather, Australia decided not to have a competition. Read “Australia’s Next-Generation Submarines” for full coverage.

July 31/12: Sub-contractors. Babcock announces that it has delivered its WHLS (weapons handling and loading system) for the 1st Spanish submarine, S-81 Issac Peral. The WHLS and its combat system interfaces were developed under a 2006 contract, in order to handle the complicated task of loading, moving, and readying large weapons like heavy torpedos, missiles, mines, etc. within the confined space of a submarine.

Babcock’s Weapons Handling Equipment (WHE) sub-system uses a semi-automated and modular approach. Unusual features include includes a tilting centerline lift that accepts weapons directly from outside the submarine, stowages with a semi-automated ‘paired release’ system for mine loading, and proximity sensors to aid in self-diagnosis of electrical and hydraulic systems.

The WHE will now be installed by Navantia in Section 5. Once the submarine sections have been welded together, system installation including electrical and hydraulic connections can be completed for re-testing. The major elements of the torpedo tubes and launch system have already been delivered, and are subject to their own installation.

Dec 13/11: Australia, again? Australia’s DoD releases RAND’s requested report of lessons learned from US, UK, and Australian submarine programs, and discusses the class options they’re investigating to replace their troubled Collins Class. They have issues RFIs to France’s DCNS (Scorpene), Germany’s TKMS HDW (Type 214), and Australia’s biggest shipbuilding partner, Spain’s Navantia (S-80). TKMS’ Swedish Kockums subsidiary, who worked with Australia to design the Collins Class, didn’t see its developmental A26 Class make the list.

Navantia is Australia’s biggest shipbuilding partner by far, with billions of dollars in work to build the core of the future RAN: Hobart Class air defense destroyers, and Canberra Class LHD amphibious aviation ships. The Australian government’s release refers to the discussions and agreement with the USA at AUSMIN 2010, regarding Australian-United States cooperation on submarine systems, which “will extend into future submarine acquisition program.” That could add one more advantage to Navantia, whose S-80 uses a number of American technologies. Australia DoD | RAND Report.

Nov 7/11: Delays. Jane’s Defense & Security Intelligence & Analysis reports that funding cuts will delay the S-80 type’s initial fielding by about 2 years, to 2015. At present, the other 3 boats are still expected to follow at 1-year intervals.

Three consecutive years of budget cuts have also affected Spain’s existing submarine program. Jane’s adds that work on a major life extension refit of SPS Galerna [S 71] had to stop for several months as Navantia waited for a payment guarantee.

CM-2000 Scorpene
(click to view full)

Nov 12/10: Divorce. The tensions created by Spain’s pursuit of the S-80 project have finally led to full divorce between Navantia and DCNS.

“DCNS and Navantia have put an end to their disagreement concerning their submarine collaboration. As a result, the arbitration procedure between them will be terminated. Scorpene submarines will from now on be built and marketed by DCNS. Similarly, S80 submarines will be built and marketed by Navantia.”

The arbitration in question is an 18-month dispute in French courts, as DCNS accused Navantia of plagiarizing technology from Scorpene to develop their larger S-80. The 2 firms had shared intellectual property rights to the design, though Navantia’s workshare at Cartagena was only about 35%. Aviation Week | Brahmand | Jane’s.

DCNS split

May 25/10: Sub-contractors. BAE Systems is shipping the 2nd set of forward and aft dome assemblies to Navantia, after technical challenges forced a do-over. The first set was delivered in August 2009.

The technical problems were associated with Spanish high tensile steel. Its elasticity makes it hard to form, and welding attempts create cracks unless strict temperature control is achieved. BAE has had to scale the learning curve, and the latest domes were reportedly completed to a redrawn budget and schedule, with “no recordable defects and no dimensional deviations.” North-West Evening Mail.

Feb 18/10: Sub-contractors. Babcock International announces that it has delivered all 6 of the internal slide valve lengths for the S-80′s Weapon Handling and Launch System (WHLS), on schedule. The 6 substantial slide valve lengths handle the flooding of the tubes, and their new design is internal to the tube body instead of being on the outside. That change allows the tubes to be mounted closer together, and Babcock also touts lower initial costs and simplified maintenance.

Manufacture and delivery of the slide valves marks the start of the hardware supply phase for the first-of-class boat. In 2006, Babcock was contracted to design, develop, manufacture and supply the S-80′s WHLS, including mechanical, electrical, electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic and software systems, as well as defining the interfaces with the submarine structure, combat system and weapons. When a submarine commander says “launch,” the WHLS moves into action, sealing the tubes, flooding them, and using rotary air-turbine pumps to launch the torpedo, missile, or mine from the tube. Key features of the S-80′s WHLS include a modular system, and a semi-automated weapon handling and stowage system. The contract is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Nov 12/09: Sub-contractors. Lockheed Martin Undersea Systems announces successful in-water testing of the S-80′s cylindrical array sonar system at the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Test Facility at Seneca Lake, NY. The cylindrical array is the bow-mounted sonar, and the configuration of hydrophones must be optimized for each ship class. Lockheed Martin designed and developed the S-80′s new array under a 2005 contract to provide the submarine’s integrated combat system.

In addition to the cylindrical array sonar, the S-80′s integrated combat system will contain flank array, passive ranging, and mine and obstacle detection sonars. The flank and passive ranging sonars were successfully tested in June 2009, and these are designed, manufactured and assembled in Manassas, VA and Syracuse, NY.

July 16/09: Sub-contractors. Globe Composite Solutions, Ltd. announces a Lockheed Martin contract to supply special acoustic baffle materials for the S-80 submarine hull’s passive ranging sonar and flank array sonars. The baffle panels will use Globe’s Brandonite® 1010-75A-00 composite material, which assists with signature reduction and sonar performance. The acoustic sensors are part of Lockheed Martin’s sub-contract with Navantia for the S-80′s Integrated Combat Management System.

Fabrication and assembly of the composite components will occur at Globe’s Rockland, MA facility, with delivery of the first shipset scheduled for the Q4 2009.

Dec 18/08: Sub-contractors. Goodrich Corp. will supply the Spanish Navy with sonar equipment mounts as part of a contract with Lockheed Martin’s maritime systems and sensors division, who was in turn hired by Navantia to develop the S-80 combat-management system. Goodrich will supply a cylindrical array sonar support structure, and 4 shipsets of passive ranging sonar and flank array sonar fairings. Goodrich | Charlotte Business Journal.

Dec 12/08: Training. Indra will cooperate with Navantia in the development of a simulator to train S-80 submarine crews. As recent events involving Russia’s Nerpa SSN illustrate, submarines have very little margin for error. Rapid, correct reaction is all that stands between safety and tragedy if anything goes wrong underwater.

The EUR 9 million contract will install the simulator in a specific building within Cartagena’s Submarine School. The equipment will be an exact and natural-sized replica of the control room’s portside, with equipment and parts that are identical to that of the submarine and can reproduce key behaviors. The simulator is used to reproduce various incidents, breakdowns and emergency situations that are likely to occur during a mission.

Indra has a simulator business, but this is the first time Indra has designed a training system for a submarine. The simulator is expected to begin operations in 2011. Indra is also responsible for EUR 24 million in contracts that cover the S-80 class’ radar, electronic defense, and the friend/foe identification systems. Indra release.

Feb 22/08: India. Infodefensa relays a Negocios newspaper report [in Spanish] that Navantia has submitted its S-80 Class currently under development for Spain, in response to an Indian Navy RFP for a follow-on submarine purchase. The purchase would follow India’s 2005 contract for 6 Scorpene Class submarines, and is expected to allocate almost EUR 3 million (about $4.5 billion) to buy another 6 submarines.

Infodefensa adds that bids for the follow-on contract have also been submitted by France’s DCNS (likely the Scorpene AIM-2000, or possibly the in-development Marlin Class), Russia’s Rubin (Advanced Kilo Class), and Germany’s HDW (likely the Type 214).

Feb 4/08: Sub-contractors. QinetiQ’s Underwater Systems business in Winfrith, Dorset announces a “multi-millon Euro” contract for 4 Towed Array Handling Systems (TAHS), to be used with Spain’s new S-80 class of submarines. Towed sonar arrays are a good way for a submarine to extend its acoustic baseline, improving its ability to detect and find ships, submarines et. al. at greater distances and with greater accuracy.

The TAHS contract was reportedly won against “strong international competition.” Its chief virtues are said to include compactness and its electric drive system as opposed to a traditional hydraulic drive. It will be part of the Cartagena-based Sociedad Anonima Electronica Submarina’s (SAES) towed array sonar, and in compliance with Spanish industrial offset requirements, a significant amount of the manufacturing and integration will be undertaken by Spanish companies under sub-contract to QinetiQ. The units will be delivered between 2010 and 2012. QinetiQ release.

Opening ceremonies
(click to view full)

Dec 13/07: Spanish Navy Admiral Sanjurjo Jul, Director of Naval Constructions, and Juan Pedro Gomez Jaen, CEO of Navantia, preside over ceremonies to lay the first submarine’s keel [S-81], and cut the first steel for the second S-80 submarine [S-82].

Keel-laying

May 2/07: Sub-contractors. In its first submarine export order in more than 20 years, BAE Systems Submarine Solutions will fabricate and assemble fore and aft pressure hull domes for Spain’s 4 S-80 submarines in its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, under the terms of the “multi million-pound agreement.” BAE Systems Submarine Solutions has already begun work on the contract for Navantia, and the first 2 boat sets will be fully welded and completed in Barrow. The last two will be partly assembled and welded in Barrow, with final welding set to take place in Navantia’s facilities in Cartagena, Spain with support from BAE Systems Solutions as required.

A nuclear submarine maker who isn’t about to introduce competing diesel-electric class boats of its own would appear to be a perfect partner for Navantia. Meanwhile, Navantia positions itself to pick up any future diesel-electric orders from Britain, and gains access to BAE’s global marketing network for the S-80.

Nov 1/06: Breaking the Scorpene partnership? Jane’s Navy International reports that “The partnership forged by French naval shipbuilding and systems group DCN and its Spanish counterpart Navantia in the conventional submarine export market looks set to break apart as the two companies look to further their rival international ambitions. Despite securing 10 orders for variants of their jointly-developed Scorpene design over the past nine years, a growing schism has emerged at corporate level as the two partners seek to bring their respective Marlin and S-80A designs to the market.”

Aug 8/06: Sub-contractors. Kollmorgen Electro-Optical and its Italian subsidiary, Calzoni Srl in Bologna, Italy, announce a $78.3 million contract. They will provide non-penetrating optronic periscopes and imaging systems and hoistable masts for the Spanish Armada’s new S-80 submarines.

The hoisting masts are based on the highly successful Universal Modular Mast utilized by the US Navy on their SSN-774 Virginia Class. Kollmorgen was the first firm to develop and deploy non-hull penetrating optronic imaging systems, while Calzoni will provide state of the art hoistable masts which raise and lower submarine sensors including radar, electronic surveillance and communication antennae, periscopes and optronic sensors.

July 27/06: Sub-contractors. Avio SpA will supply its GAUDI (Guidance Automation Unit Distributed Intelligence) autopilot system to the S-80 program, for an undisclosed amount. Avio will collaborate with Navantia’s Faba electronics division, who also has extensive experience in control system design and construction.

July 24/06: Sub-contractors. Indra announces receipt of a EUR 24.2 million contract for the development and introduction of radars, defense electronic systems, and Friend-Foe identification systems (IFF) in S-80 submarines.

• The radars will be based on the Aries systems developed by Indra and which are currently operative in surface ships. These radars are low probability of interception type (LPI) and will also perform exploration tasks. The contract includes adapting the Aries systems to submarine platforms, and installing them in the 4 Scorpene S-80 submarines.

• The Friend-Foe identification systems will incorporate the new NATO identification mode 5 whose main function will be self-identification under any interrogation signal request to create reliable recognition among allies.

• Indra’s modular Pegaso defense electronic systems will enable them to detect, analyze, identify and issue warnings about possible threats through radar signals and communications intercepts.

July 19/06: Sub-contractors. United Technologies Inc. subsidiary UTC Power announces that its UTC Fuel Cells unit will design and develop a 300 kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power module for the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, S.A., for use in the Spanish Navy’s new S-80 Scorpene submarines as part of their Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. The 300 kW PEM fuel cell will be designed to operate on reformed ethanol and pure oxygen. According to an AP report, the company says it will take about five years to design and produce the system, which could result in about 80 jobs at UTC Power.

July 27/05: Thales SUBTICS out, Lockheed in. Reuters reports that Spain’s Defence Ministry has chosen Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply combat systems for its S-80 in preference to Thales’ SUBTICS. They passed on a report from El Pais, which stated that the Lockheed contract was worth around EUR 200 million, adding laconically that “Ministry spokesmen were unable to confirm that.” They also noted this snippet on the Ministry’s web site, which said that “This decision… guarantees technology transfers from Lockheed Martin to Navantia, which will allow the Spanish shipyards to improve their future commercial prospects in the world submarine market.” Which seems to be an accurate translation of the release we found at the MDE.

Lockheed would eventually announce the win in a Jan 4/06 release, noting the benefits its open architecture approach to the combat systems on the U.S. Navy’s SSN-774 Virginia, SSN-21 Seawolf and SSN-688 Los Angeles Class submarines. For the S-80A submarines, Lockheed Martin said they would “support a Spanish industry design and develop the core combat system as a technology partner using experience gained over the last 40 years…”

September 2003: The Spanish Council of Ministers gives the go-ahead for Spanish production of S-80 submarines. The S-80 program had reported values from EUR 1.75 – 2.1 billion

November 2002: A 2nd stage Project Definition contract is signed with IZAR, in order to implement the new requirements from the 1st stage. Source.

Nov 2/99: A 1st stage Project Definition contract is signed between IZAR Shipyards in Cartagena and Spain’s DAM for the definition of a submarine prototype. Source.

April 1998: Pre-feasibility stage resulting in the document “Staff Objectives.” Source.

November 1997: Assessment of operational requirements resulting in the “Preliminary Concept of Staff Objectives.” Source.

Additional Readings & Sources

Many thanks to DID reader Pedro Lucio, who put the S-80′s initial profile together based on his research into English and Spanish language sites. DID has continued to update this information. Corrections are welcome, and should be sent to tips, over here @defenseindustrydaily.com.

• Spanish Armada – El Futuro: Serie S-80. En Espanol, of course.

• Navantia – “S-80″ Submarine fact sheet [PDF]

• El Pais (Aug 12/11) – Defensa renegocia una deuda de 26.000 millones que no puede pagar. Spain’s military modernization budget needs to rise sharply, but its economy isn’t doing that. Which could mean trouble for many programs.

• US Dept. of State Report on Spain’s Military & Defense Sector, 2004. We included it because it’s very interesting, and adds helpful overall background re: the larger context for the S-80 program and many of the firms in it.

• Seapower Magazine (June 2003) – International Seapower/ Spain Requests Tomahawks For Destroyers and Submarines. Includes some details re: the S-80 program, though some of their details conflict with other reports. A November 2003 report pegs the S-80′s displacement at 2,345t.

In August 2005, Australia’s Ministry of Defence reported that Australia and the United States had joined forces by signing a joint agreement to develop active phased array radar technology in Australia. The total development cost was estimated to be approximately A$ 30 million over 3 years. The hope was that it would kick-start a new Australian electronics and systems integration industry, based on S-band active array and X-band phased-array technology, sized for and applied to smaller ships like frigates and corvettes.

Both countries will share the development costs, technical expertise and benefits of the CEAFAR (3D) active phased array radar. This technology is being developed by ACT electronics company CEA Technologies, and has become part of Australia’s ASMD project to make its ANZAC Class frigates survivable against supersonic cruise missiles. Other military and civil applications on land and sea are also possible, given the radar’s characteristics.

The CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT Solution

CEAFAR (3D) Test

To date, planar phased array radars that can “stare” out over an entire coverage area, instead of rotating at the top of a ship, have been the domain of larger ships like cruisers and destroyers. As technologies have improved, medium and large sized frigates have begun to include these technologies as well. CEA Technologies’ pitch to the Australian DoD contended that advances in the power and size of modern electronics might allow this approach to be brought to smaller frigates and even corvettes, giving even these affordable ships strong protection against evolving threats, and an expanded role in future fleets. The niche was open, which meant that a successful program could give Australia a world-wide defense technology winner.

After some preliminary tests went well, an Australian government that was already wondering what to do with its new but already-overmatched ANZAC frigates began to pay attention.

The 4th generation S-band CEAFAR active phased array radar is designed to be supplemented with the X-band CEAMOUNT Solid State Continuous Wave Illuminator. Each has 1,024 transmit/receive (T/R) modules per “face,” and both are intended to be small enough for installation on corvettes or small frigates like the ANZAC Class.

CEAFAR’s 6 faces are each a 4×4 array of 30cm x 30cm “tiles,” where each tile is made up of 64 miniature, solid-state S-band transmit/receive modules, for a total of 6,144.

CEAMOUNT has 4 antenna faces, each of which is a 2×2 array of 20cm x 20cm tiles, where each tile has 256 T/R X-band modules, for a total of 4,096 T/R modules.

CEAMOUNT

These active array radars also use digital beamforming techniques, rather than mechanical scans. That improves the ability to use multiple simultaneous beams that help improve performance in severe environmental clutter, and also provide improved search and targeting capabilities against very fast, maneuvering targets. Modern supersonic anti-ship missiles, for example.

The combined system of radar, illuminator and central equipment group of power supplies etc. is able to generate and continuously maintain more than 10 simultaneous fire control channels. That’s a very sharp improvement over Australia’s existing frigate capabilities; indeed, it is in the same range or better than some top-of-the-line air defense destroyers. Thales Nederland’s ICWI (Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination) technologies will offer further improvements, when used with the SM-2 Block IIIA missile.

As an additional feature, the radar is designed to be software based. That adds risk to the program in the short term, but in the long term, it creates a radar that can be improved via algorithm updates and processor improvements, rather than more expensive and time-consuming hardware changes.

Back in August 2005, Australian defense minister Sen. Hill congratulated CEA Technologies and the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation for the work done to bring about this joint project, and noted that:

“The program will allow further development of the CEA radar technology for possible use in medium to long range air warfare and ballistic missile defence. The technology can also be applied to smaller ships and other Australian Defence Force air surveillance assets… [and] also has potential to be used in a range of US programs including the Littoral Combat Ship and other new ship programs, land and land mobile programs, as well as replacing legacy systems on some US ships… We have a very close working relationship with the US Navy on this project, with US staff embedded in the project team.”

Marrying a radar to any individual ship class is an exercise in specific design. A great deal of study has gone into the mounting of CEAFAR’s 6 faces and the CEAMOUNT illuminator’s 4 faces. That process has finally settled on an option that shifts the citadel to roughly mid-center along the length of the ship, with the SPS-49 horizon search radar sitting atop the housing. The mount is placed as high as possible without compromising the ship’s stability, and this solution is reported to have a range of more than 30 nautical miles.

The ANZAC upgrade program will use a “1 + 7″ format, in which the first ship (HMAS Perth) will be upgraded and trialed before the remaining 7 get the go-ahead for upgrades.

CEC Concept
(click to enlarge)

Note that in order to be useful for long range air warfare and ballistic missile defense per Sen. Hill’s vision, these phased array radars would need to be integrated with other ships. As is the case with the U.S. Navy’s Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC).

CEC works especially well with the AEGIS radar & combat system, which will be present in Australia’s new SEA 4000 Air Warfare Destroyers. CEC allows advance ships to track and engage threats beyond the firing ship’s radar range, and advanced versions of the Standard (SM-2 Block III+) missiles, which Australia is already buying for its FFG-7 frigates and Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers will give Australia that option.

The question is whether CEC or something similar will also be present in Australia’s upgraded ANZAC class, in order to take full advantage of the ships’ new radars, and give the RAN maximum flexibility and firepower.

At present, system level grooming and integration are underway for the CEA radars. So is construction, and the first 2 deliverable Sea 1448 systems were due for formal delivery in December 2009. First ship installation work should start in early 2009 after final acceptance testing, with a first of class delivery target of June 2011. The CEA radars will be installed along with Sagem’s Vampir NG IRST (Infra-red search and track) for long-range passive surveillance, and an upgrade to Saab’s 9LV Combat Management System.

Formal sea trials of HMAS Perth began in early 2011, and ended successfully in May 2011. Conversions are underway for the remaining ANZAC frigates, and Australia is considering this radar set for its future frigates as well.

Contracts and Key Events

New ANZAC citadel
(click for full ship)

May 17/13: Australia looks set to broaden its use of the CEAFAR/ CEAMOUNT radar technologies, by fielding a larger version:

“The Department of Defence today released a Request For Tender to CEA Technologies for the development of a High Power Phased Array Radar concept demonstrator…. for the development of radar systems based on the CEAFAR radar which could support future naval acquisitions such as the Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigates through Project SEA 5000…. The initial part of this investment is anticipated to be in the order of [A$] 4 million dollars.”

They’ll have some time to work on it. According to the 2013 White Paper, the frigates aren’t scheduled to begin construction for another 10 years. Australia DoD | ASPI shipbuilding timeline.

Future Frigate Radar R&D

March 2013: ASMD Update. Asia Pacific Defence Reporter covers the ASMD ANZAC upgrade program. As of Feb 7/13, A$ 654.143 million has been spent on the ASMD program, or about 62% of the total budget. HMAS Arunta is set to finish installation by Oct 30/13, with at-sea acceptance testing done by May 9/14. All ANZAC frigates are scheduled for upgrade by the end of 2016, with HMAS Toowoomba scheduled to finish the program by coming out of at-sea testing in the 1st half of 2017.

Abroad, CEA CEO Rob Forbes cites New Zealand and its ANZAC fleet as an obvious candidate, though discussions with the RNZN haven’t translated into a program at the ministry. Canada’s Future Surface Combatant program is another potential opportunity, and he adds “considerable interest from the US,” reportedly including ground-based versions. We’re not sure where that would fit, given existing USMC (G/ATOR), US Army, and USAF (3DELRR) programs. APDR, via CEA [PDF]

September 2012: ASMD Update. Asia Pacific Defence Reporter magazine covers the ASMD ANZAC upgrade program. HMAS Perth has now coupled its earlier RIM-162 ESSM defensive missile firings with RGM-84 Harpoon Block II shots, giving the frigates new anti-ship and land-attack capabilities. The frigate also participated in the August 2012 RIMPAC exercises with the US Navy and a number of pacific fleets, and took home the Gunnery Championship trophy. That appears to have spawned some international interest in the new radar set.

HMAS Arunta has been in dock since April 2012, preparing for conversion, with BAE Australia in the lead role. Orders have reportedly been released to suppliers for 7 ship sets of materials, with 90% of purchase orders released. CEA is working on its 2nd radar ship set, and is looking to follow-on batches of the US Littoral Ship Program as an opportunity.

Saab is working on full radar control, and Air Intercept Control mode, RIM-162 ESSM integration in all modes that also allows more missiles to be controlled at once, and full integration with the radar/GPS guided Harpoon Block 2. These are all combat system upgrades, with tests and trials scheduled for mid-2014. APDR, via CEA [PDF].

May 30/12: An Australian navy release adds a couple of crucial details concerning the ASMD upgrades:

“HMAS Perth was recently upgraded and its new capability was successfully shown off to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) at the annual Esquimalt Victoria Day Parade. The total project cost is in excess of $650 million, including the funds already spent upgrading HMAS Perth. The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) remaining seven frigates will be upgraded by 2017.”

New HMAS Perth
(click to view full)

May 8/11: Testing. HMAS Perth’s testing period is successfully completed, after firing its first RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile at a remotely piloted air target above Jervis Bay. It’s fair to say that this firing also launches the new radars as contenders in the global naval marketplace.

Saab later issues a release, touting the role played by its upgraded 9LV 453 Mk 3E combat system. Related upgrades included new 30-inch MS Windows touchscreen consoles in as redesigned operations room, large-screen displays, redundant gigabit LANs, integration of new inputs like Sagem’s Vampir IRST and Link-16, and advanced control modes for the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, which take full advantage of the radar’s capabilities. As important as the radars are, the combat system plays a key role in any ship – and Saab’s popular 9LV is now tested with CEAFAR/ CEAMOUNT radars. RAN photo | Saab release.

May 3/11: Testing. The Royal Australian Navy announces that:

“HMAS Perth (Captain Malcolm Wise) has emerged from her Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade with a truly unique profile and has proven her mettle in the last two months of sea acceptance testing trials in the West Australian Exercise Area… now heading east to complete the trials in the East Australian Exercise Area and conduct rangings on the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility off the coast of Hawaii… With all upgrade trials due to be complete in June, Perth will be partnering with a number of Australian and US ships in the joint US-Australian exercise, Talisman Sabre 11 off the coast of Queensland in July.”

Oct 23/10: Testing. The Australian reports that HMAS Perth slipped her moorings at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, just south of Fremantle, and sailed into Cockburn Sound for the first time with its all-new Australian radar system:

“Defence sources told The Australian HMAS Perth will be tied up at the naval base at HMAS Stirling while the new radars and heavily upgraded Saab Australia combat system undergo Harbour Acceptance Trials. The new radars will be set to work for the first time next month, according to a source in the project, but the ship won’t start its formal sea trials until late February [2011].”

March 31/09: ASMD Contractors. Thales Nederland announces that Australia’s ANZAC frigates will be fitted with its Mid-Course Guidance and Sampled Data Homing function technologies, as a complement to their new active array radar systems.

The technology was developed to accompany Thales’ own active array EMPAR radar, and is based on Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination (ICWI). ICWI guidance helps a single missile control radar guide several missiles simultaneously to several threats, instead of having a limited number of illuminators that can each focus on just one missile and one threat at a time. This has substantial benefits in the event of saturation attacks. Other navies buying Thales ICWI technologies include Germany and the Netherlands (F124 frigates), Denmark (future patrol ships), and Japan (future helicopter carrier and destroyers).

Feb 17/09: Update. During a speech to the 2009 Australian Defence Magazine conference, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement Greg Combet has this to say about the ASMD project:

“Another project that has experienced significant delay has been the ANZAC Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) Project. The ASMD project involves a comprehensive upgrade of the ANZAC Frigates including the addition of new phased array radar technology designed by local Australian company CEA Technologies.

This is an exciting project involving some of the world’s best radar technologies, however it has also experienced some delays and budget pressures. I was pleased to announce last year that the project has now been able to successfully demonstrate CEA Technologies’ CEAFAR active phased array multi-function radar on HMAS Perth at sea. This is a significant milestone and forms part of the Commonwealth’s new risk mitigation strategy that aims to see the technology fully demonstrated before it is deployed to all of the frigates. “

CEA radar delivery
(click to view full)

Nov 25/08: Testing. CEA Technologies announces that its CEAFAR active phased-array multi-function radar has successfully completed at-sea risk reduction and data collection tests while installed on the ANZAC frigate HMAS Perth:

“Demonstration activities included tactical air and surface scenarios involving multiple aircraft and ships. Small targets that are representative of anti-ship missiles and weapon systems were employed. Tasks were conducted in littoral and open ocean maritime conditions and included the complex electromagnetic environments associated with multiple warships and aircraft… The at-sea demonstration follows a successful land-based demonstration in early November.”

On the other hand, Australia’s DoD does note that this project is behind schedule, and under scrutiny. Australian DoD | CEA Technologies.

Nov 6/08: Testing. A successful land-based demonstration of a production CEAFAR radar occurs at CEA Technologies’ Canberra facilities. CEAFAR fixed-face active phased array radar operated 2 ‘faces’ to track air targets in a complex land environment.

This test paves the way for at-sea work, and also fits into CEA and NGC’s larger plans for the technology. They believe that it may be scalable to land and even air-based applications, and so this test is a first step in that direction as well. CEA release [PDF]

Dec 19/07: Testing. CEA Technologies announces [PDF] that they have successfully achieved the required “through air” (i.e. clear conditions) radar performance with CEAFAR. CEA also implemented and demonstrated important aspects of its digital beam forming technology not scheduled for this stage of the program.

The firm’s release adds that the company is “actively engaged in the pursuit of international Naval programs in North America and Europe with opportunities worth in excess of AUD250M.”

Jan 22/07: Update. Jane’s Navy International reports:

“Australia’s CEA Technologies is continuing to progress engineering development of the CEAFAR active phased-array radar system for the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) eight ANZAC-class frigates. Selection of CEAFAR E/F-band phased-array radar and associated CEAMOUNT I/J-band missile illuminator for the ASMD upgrade (under Project SEA 1448) was confirmed by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) in September 2005. This endorsement followed successful land-based and shipborne trials of the CEAFAR system over the past two-and-a-half years…”

Additional Readings

• CEA Technologies – CEAFAR Active Phased Array Radar

• CEA Technologies – CEAMOUNT Illuminator

• The Australian (Oct 23/10) – New radar allows ‘channels of fire’

• Australian Defence Magazine (December 2007 – January 2008) – Ship Defence Capabilities Outweigh Program Risks [PDF]

• Australian Defence Business Review Magazine (Nov – Dec 2007) – New Radar Horizon Set For Anzacs & Beyond [PDF]

Australia: Other Naval Surface Combatant Programs

• DID – Aussie Anti-Air Umbrella: The Hobart Class Ships. The 3-ship high-end fleet above the ANZAC-ASMD frigates. Their radars are not as advanced, but they have size, power, CEC networkability, and proven ballistic missile defense growth on their side.

• DID – Australia’s Hazard(ous) Frigate Upgrade. Their FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry Class ships were a nightmare to upgrade. This 4-ship fleet is the tier below the ANZACs.

Competitors

• Defense Update – EL/M-2248 MF-STAR Naval Multi-Mission Radar. A similar radar offering from Israel’s IAI Elta.

• EADS Cassidian – TRS-4D

• DID – Flexible G/ATORs: The USMC’s Multi-Mission AESA Ground Radars. Not a competitor yet, but Northrop Grumman is considering the TPS-80 as a future naval radar for smaller ships.

South Korea has been thinking seriously about designing its own fighter jet since 2008. The ROK defense sector has made impressive progress, and has become a notable exporter of aerospace, land, and naval equipment. The idea of a plane that helps advance their aerospace industry, while making it easy to add new Korean-designed weapons, is very appealing. On the flip side, a new jet fighter is a massive endeavor at the best of times, and wildly unrealistic technical expectations didn’t help the project. KF-X has progressed in fits and starts, and became a multinational program when Indonesia joined in June 2010. As of March 2013, however, South Korea has decided to put the KF-X program on hold for 18 months, while the government and Parliament decide whether it’s worth continuing.

Indonesia has reportedly contributed IDR 1.6 trillion since they joined in July 2010 – but that’s just $165 million of the DAPA’s estimated WON 6 billion (about $5.5 billion) development cost, and there’s good reason to believe that even this development budget is too low. This article discusses the KFX/IFX fighter’s proposed designs and features, and chronicles the project’s progress and setbacks since 2008.

Changing Stories: The “F-33/ Boramae” KF-X Fighter

Unofficial KF-X vid
click for video

Unrealistic early visions of an F-35 class stealth aircraft developed on the cheap produced some attention-getting models, but they appear to have given way to the idea of a fighter with slightly better kinematic performance than an F-16C/D Block 50, along with more advanced electronics that include a made-in-Korea AESA radar, the ability to carry a range of new South Korean weapons under development, and a better radar signature. The Jakarta Globe adds that the plane is eventually slated to get the designation F-33.

The project goes ahead, the 1st step will involve picking a foreign development partner, and the next step will involve choosing between 1 of 2 competing designs. The C103 design’s conventional fighter layout would look somewhat like the F-35, while the C203 design follows the European approach and uses forward canards in a stealth-shaped airframe. It’s likely that the choice of their foreign development partner will determine the design choice pursued.

Either aircraft would be a twin-engine fighter weighing around 10.4 tonnes, with stealth shaping. In order to keep ambitions within the bounds of realism, KFX Bock 1 fighters would only have to meet the radar cross-section of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or Eurofighter Typhoon. Sources have used figures of 0.1 – 1.0 square meters.

Note that even this specification amounts to developing a plane similar to or more advanced than the JAS-39E/F Gripen, from a lower technological base, with less international help on key components, all for less development money than a more experienced firm needed to spend. South Korea’s own KIDA takes a similar view, questioning the country’s technical readiness for something this complicated, and noting an overall cost per aircraft that’s twice as much as similar imported fighters.

KFX Block 2 would add internal weapon bays. Present plans call for Block 1 would be compatible with the bays, and hence upgradeable to Block 2 status, but Block 1 planes wouldn’t begin with internal bays. The fighter’s size and twin-engine design offer added space compared to a plan like the Gripen, but this feature will still be a notable design challenge. Additional tolerance and coating improvements are envisioned to reduce stealth to the level of an F-117: about 0.025 square meters.

KFX Block 3 would aim for further stealth improvements to the level of the B-2 bomber or F-35.

No timeline has been discussed for Block 2 and Block 3 improvements, and at this stage of the program, any dates given would be wildly unreliable anyway.

KF-X: Program & Prospects

T-50 line
(click to view full)

The KF-X project remains a “paper airplane,” without even a prototype. The program was reportedly postponed until April 2011 due to financial and technological difficulties, and now a second postponement appears to extend to June 2014. If South Korea elects to proceed at all. The ROK Agency for Defense Development says that if full-scale development begins in October 2014, the 1st KF-X Block 1 prototype flight wouldn’t take place until September 2020. Based on the history of other programs, the new plane would be hard pressed to enter service before 2025.

Indonesia is currently the only KF-X foreign development partner, with 20% of the project. The project is sometimes referred to as “IFX” (Indonesia Fighter eXperimental) in that country.

Turkey is a big defense customer for South Korea, and discussions have been held concerning KF-X, but Turkey wanted more control over the project than a 20% share, and no agreement has been forthcoming. The TuAF is already committed to buying about 100 F-35As to replace its F-4 Phantoms, and many of its F-16s as well. They’re also investigating the idea of designing their own fighter, and have enlisted Sweden’s Saab to assist (vid. March 20/13 entry).

In the interim, KAI’s FA-50 is emerging as a low-end fighter to replace existing ROKAF F-5s and F-4s, and South Korea is scheduled to have its F-X-3 competition decided before the KF-X resumes. That could leave them with a high-end fleet plan of 80-100 stealth-enhanced F-15SE Strike Eagles, split between new buys and upgrades. It’s fair to ask where an expensive KF-X program would fit in that mix, especially when even on-budget performance of WON 14 billion for development and production could buy and equip over 110 more F-15SEs, instead of 130-150 “F-33s”.

Moreover, if KF-X was developed, how big would the 2025-2040 export market really be? Even in a hypothetical market where production lines for the F-16, F/A-18 family, Eurofighter, and Rafale had all shut down, that still leaves South Korea competing for mid-tier purchases against China’s J-10, J-11, and “J-31″, Russia’s SU-35 and possibly its MiG-35, Sweden’s JAS-39E/F, and the USA’s F-35.

On the other hand, KAI needs development work after the FA-50 is done. As one 2009 article asked, how far can industrial nationalism go? The next 18 months will offer an answer to that question.

Contracts & Key Events

ROK Flag

May 16/13: Indonesia. Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro says that they remain committed to the KFX/IFX program. The Jakarta Post:

“We have told our South Korean counterparts that we will continue doing our part. Whatever their decision is, and whatever technology they focus on, we will follow their lead and our 20 percent of share will remain,” Purnomo said…. TB Hasanuddin of House Commission I on defense and foreign affairs, said that about Rp 1.6 trillion ($164.8 million) was already spent on the project.”

The question is whether South Korea chooses to pick up the project again, after the 18-month delay is over.

April 29/13: Details. Aviation Week recaps the ROK ADD’s KF-X plan (q.v. Feb 18/13 entry), and quotes “a former air force officer who has been involved in planning for KF-X” to say that radar cross-section for Block 1 will be between 0.1 – 1.0 square meters. It adds that the choice between the conventional layout C103 and C203 canard design probably comes down to the development partner Korea chooses: C103 if American, C203 if European.

Candidate engines for the twin-engine design are reportedly the GR F404 used in the FA-50, Eurojet’s EJ200 used in the Eurofighter, or GE’s F414 used in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, JAS-39E/F Gripen NG, and India’s Tejas Mk.II. Snecma’s M88, used in Dassault’s Rafale, reportedly isn’t a candidate. Aviation Week.

April 5/13: South Korean media detail a proposal from EADS to produce 80% of F-X Phase 3′s 60 fighters at KAI, if DAPA picks their Eurofighter. The Yonhap report also discusses this potential industrial boost for KAI in the context of the KF-X program,:

“Many have been calling on the Park Geun-hye administration to promptly make a decision to either go ahead with the large-scale airplane development project or put on the brakes if it is deemed economically unsustainable.”

The rest of the Yonhap report may be switching contexts to the F-X-3 high-end fighter acquisition, as it describes a decision to be made by June 2013, as part of a renewed emphasis on major defense projects in light of North Korea’s actions. That doesn’t entirely track with previous reports that place resumption of KF-X at June 2014, if it happens at all. It does track with reports concerning the F-X-3 program, so the confusion could just be poor writing. What is true is that provocations from North Korea are very much a double-edged sword for KF-X. On the one hand, they boost the idea of defense spending generally. On the other hand, they raise needs like anti-submarine warfare, missile defense improvements, etc. that will be higher priorities than KF-X. Yonhap News Service | Hankoryeh.

March 20/13: Turkey. The Turks appear to be picking an independent course toward their future fighter aircraft, in line with rumors that they wanted more control than the KF-X program could give them. Their SSM signed an August 2011 deal with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to carry out the conceptual design work, and recent reports add a preliminary agreement between TAI and Saab Group for technical assistance. Reports add that TAI is expected to acquire Saab’s aircraft design tools, which would make cooperation much easier.

These moves don’t completely rule out KF-X participation, but they do weight the odds the other way. Defense Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar says that Turkey’s project began in 2012, adding that after some modeling trials, one of the designs has matured. After completing the design phase, the undersecretary will offer a program plan to Turkey’s Defense Industry Executive Committee.

Turkey faces some of the same dilemmas as South Korea. If 2023 is the first flight date for a 4.5 generation fighter, there’s a real risk that the design will be outmoded from the outset. On the other hand, designing and prototyping an indigenous jet from scratch takes time, and technical overreach versus current capabilities is incredibly risky. One “top official from a Western aircraft maker” told Hurriyet that Turkey may already be headed down that path: “…we had to step back when we understood that the technical requirements for the aircraft are far from being realistic.” Hurriyet | Hurriyet follow-on | AIN.

Feb 18/13: Details. Aviation Week reports that the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis has given KF-X a sharp negative review, even though it’s a defense ministry think-tank. In brief: the ROK isn’t technologically ready, and the project’s KRW 10+ trillion cost will be about twice as much as similar imported fighters. The 2013 budget is just KRW 4.5 billion, to continue studies.

Those studies are coming to some conclusions. The ROK ADD would still have a pick a design if they go ahead: either the conventional C103 fighter layout, or the C203 design with forward canards. Either aircraft would be a twin-engine fighter weighing around 10.4 tonnes, with stealth shaping. Bock 1 would only have to meet the radar cross-section of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or Eurofighter Typhoon. Block 2 would add internal weapon bays, which Block 1 would be compatible with but not have. Additional tolerance and coating improvements would reduce stealth to the level of an F-117. Block 3 would aim for further improvements to the level of the B-2 bomber or F-35.

The ROK Agency for Defense Development says that if full-scale development begins in October 2014, the 1st KF-X Block 1 prototype flight would take until September 2020. Based on the history of other programs, the new plane would be hard pressed to enter service before 2025. Aviation Week.

July 14/11: Indonesia confirmed. About a year after the MoU, The secretary general of Indonesia’s defence ministry, Erris Heriyanto, confirms the MoU’s terms to Indonesia’s ­official Antara news agency. KAI EVP Enes Park had called Indonesia’s involvement unconfirmed at the November 2010 Indo Defence show, but the Antara report appears to confirm it.

Turkey unveiled indigenous fighter plans of its own in December 2010, with the aim of fielding a fighter by 2023, but they haven’t made any commitments to KF-X. Flight International.

T-129: Quid pro quo?
(click to view full)

Dec 27/10: Yo-yo. South Korea’s Yonhap News agency reports that South Korea’s military is trying to swing KF-X back to a stealth fighter program, in the wake of North Korea’s Nov. 23 shelling on Yeonpyeong Island.

Subsequent reports indicate that the uncertainty about KF-X requirements leads to a program halt, until things can get sorted out. Yonhap.

Aug 9/10: Turkey. DAPA aircraft programs director Maj. Gen. Choi Cha-kyu says that Turkey is actively considering the K-FX fighter program, and would bear the same 20% project share as Indonesia if they come on board.

There are reports that in return, Turkey wants the ROK to pick the T-129 ATAK helicopter under the AH-X heavy attack helicopter program. Turkey bought the A129 Mangusta design from AgustaWestland, as part of a September 2007 contract to build 51-92 helicopters for the Turkish Army. Korea Times | Hurriyet.

Now: TNI-AU F-16A
(click to view full)

July 15/10: Indonesia. Indonesia signs a Memorandum of Understanding to participate in KF-X. They’ll pay 20% of the estimated WON 5.1 trillion (about $4.1 billion) development effort, with 5 prototypes to be built before 2020, and commit to buying 50 of the fighters. South Korea has only committed to 60% of the development cost, which leaves 20% in limbo. DAPA’s KF-X program director Col. Lee Jong-hee says:

“There are two options on the table. One is to lure financial investments from other nations, such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The other is to receive investments from Western aircraft makers wishing to participate in the KF-X.”

The Indonesian agreement follows a March 2009 Letter of Intent that was co-signed by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Indonesian MPs urged the government to conduct a feasibility test beforehand, but that wasn’t done. Key issues from Indonesia’s point of view include KF-X’s adequacy for the TNI-AU’s needs; technical and fiscal feasibility; technology and cost risk; the benefits to Indonesia’s aviation industry, given a break-even set by Aviation Week at 250-300 fighters for under $41 million each; and the role of 3rd country tech for engines. etc. which could still leave the fighters subject to foreign embargoes. Defense News | Jakarta Post.

Indonesia joins the program

Sept 12/09: KF-X drivers. Aviation Week offers their take on KFX’s positioning and industrial drivers:

“South Korea has decided that it can’t afford to build a cutting-edge stealth fighter…. it is considering building a gen-4.5 fighter, which might emerge as a jazzed up Typhoon or Super Hornet…. KFX would go into service in the early 2020s, perhaps a quarter of a century behind its technology level.

….Korea Aerospace will run out of fighter development work in a few years when the FA-50 is finished. It presumably does not have the technology to step straight from that to a combat drone. And it can’t spend next decade building up skills with an improved, single-seat FA-50, because the air force wants bigger aircraft…. the KFX would perhaps be an extreme example of sacrifices made in the name of self reliance or, perhaps, nationalism.”

July 23/09: KF-X. Defense News reports that “South Korea Drops 5th-Generation Fighter Plan,” but the title is misleading. The Weapon Systems Concept Development and Application Research Center of Konkuk University asked Boeing, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin and Saab about their views on the per-plane cost estimate of $50 million, as well as budget-sharing ideas and technology transfer.

The problem is that South Korea’s specifications as described most closely mirror the ($150-180 million each, and $10+ billion development) F-22 Raptor, indicating that some reconciliation with reality is still necessary. The center will wrap up the feasibility study by October 2009, and DAPA is supposed to issue a decision on the KF-X initiative by year’s end. That will determine whether KF-X competes with/ supplants F-X-3, or proceeds as a separate program.

May 12/09: Changing gears. The Korea Times reports that the ROKAF’s Studies and Analyses Wing made an interim decision KF-X operational requirements in March 2009:

“Basic requirements call for a F-18E/F Super Hornet-class aircraft equipped with 4.5-generation semi-stealth functions, a domestically-built active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar ["based on accrued technologies from Israel"], a 32,000-pound of engine thrust and fully integrated weapons and sensors systems…. The KF-X aircraft would be either a single-engine fighter or a twin-engine one, [the source] added. It is the first time that KF-X operational requirements have been revealed.”

DAPA expects a final program decision around the end of 2009, and KF-X is expected to be part of the military’s 2010-14 force improvement package.

Jan 28/08: Reality check. The current program was scheduled to be followed by a KF-X program to develop and indigenous 5th generation/ stealth fighter to replace all F-5E Tiger IIs and F-4E Phantom IIs. After a feasibility study in 2008, the project would aim to produce the next-generation jets by 2020, with the goal of building 120 planes in a bid to secure proprietary technology and strengthen the country’s medium level fighter jet capacity. The goal is reportedly a single-seat, twin-engine plane with about 40,000 pounds of thrust from its engines, with more stealth than the Eurofighter Typhoon or Dassault Rafale, but less stealth than the F-35.

Now the Korea Development Institute has delivered a report concluding that the economic and industrial returns would be weak in proportion to its cost: about 3 trillion won/ $3 billion in returns, on a 10 trillion won investment. Papers quote foreign experts who estimate development costs of up to $12 billion. Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said the KDI report was for reference only, and the project decision would include other factors such as export prospects and technological capacity.

$7 billion is not a sum to be thrown away casually, and the difference would be very noticeable within South Korea’s defense budgets. Options like partnering with EADS on a stealthier version of the Eurofighter, for instance, might lower development costs and offer an additional option. Nevertheless, with F-X-3 likely to select a stealthy platform, a merger with the K-FX program and negotiation of an industrial deal seems more likely. Especially given South Korea’s demographic crunch, which will begin to bite by 2020. Chosun Ilbo | Korea Times.

Additional Readings

• DID – Korea’s T-50 Family Spreads Its Wings. Some accounts have KF-X as an FA-50 derivative.

• DID – Korea’s F-X Multi-Role Fighter Buys: Phases 2 & 3. The ROKAF’s high-end fighter plans.

• Aviation Week – KFX Timeline. To 2013.

• Flight International (Oct 27/11) – IN FOCUS: South Korea outlines strategy for indigenous fighter.

• World Politics Review (Aug 13/10) – Global Insider: Indonesia-South Korea Joint Fighter Project (subscription). Says that KF-X will be based on KAI’s T-50, and aims to produce a fighter on par with the F-16C/D Block 50.

• Defense News (July 15/10) – Indonesia Joins South Korean Fighter Effort

• The Jakarta Post (July 12/10) – RI-S. Korea KFX cooperation: The second best option?

• Aviation Week (Sept 21/09) – A Generation 4.5 Fighter for the 2020s

ScanEagle’s base Insight UAV platform was originally developed by Washington state’s Insitu, Inc. to track dolphins and tuna from fishing boats, in order to ensure that the fish you buy in supermarkets is “dolphin-safe”. It turns out that the same characteristics needed by fishing boats (able to handle salt water environments, low infrastructure launch and recovery, small size, 20-hour long endurance, automated flight patterns) are equally important for naval operations from larger vessels, and for battlefield surveillance. A partnership with Boeing took ScanEagle to market in those fields, and the USMC’s initial buy in 2004 was the beginning of a market-leading position in its niche.

This article covers recent developments with the ScanEagle UAV system, which is quickly evolving into a mainstay with the US Navy and its allies. Incumbency doesn’t last long in the fast-changing world of UAVs, though. Insitu’s own RQ-21 Integrator is looking to push the ScanEagle aside, and new multiple-award contracts in the USA are creating opportunities for other competitors. Can Insitu’s original stay strong?

The ScanEagle Family

ScanEagle BCAS launch
(click for alternate view)

The ScanEagle is solidly based on Insitu’s original “Insight” platform, with different variants distinguished by their payloads and accompanying equipment rather than their aerodynamic design. The UAVs are launched by catapult, and autonomously recovered using a folding “skyhook” and catch-line. These UAVs fill a niche between hand-launched mini-UAVs like Aerovironment’s RQ-11 Raven or Elbit’s Skylark I, and runway-capable tactical UAVs like Textron’s RQ-7 Shadow, Aeronautics DS’ Aerostar, or IAI’s Searcher II. Its long endurance is actually superior to its tactical UAV competitors, but its payload weight limit is significantly smaller.

ScanEagle has been demonstrated or used from a wide variety of ship classes and types, and the family includes a number of specialty variants from sniper locator, to bio-warfare agent detection (BCAS). A NightEagle conversion kit adds a different front end with thermal imaging sensors, and allows field conversion of ScanEagle aircraft in 2-3 hours. More drastic modifications are found in the ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC), whose smaller fold-out wings allow it to be launched from an aircraft pylon, or a submarine.

Boeing contractor, Iraq:
ScanEagle returns
(click to view full)

That combination of versatility, long endurance, and small size appears to be succeeding in the global defense marketplace, without really impairing the market for tactical UAVs.

Boeing has had field representatives in theater for a few years now to support and operate the ScanEagle UAV from ships and ashore, receiving high battlefield praise and a fairly regular stream of contracts from the USA and Australia. Canada and Malaysia have signed on for battlefield surveillance services, the Dutch are using ScanEagle as an interim UAV, Poland and Singapore have purchased the platform, Japan is testing it, and a US Navy presentation suggests that the Colombian, Iraqi, and Tunisian navies are using it. Other customers wait in the wings, with reported interest from Kuwait, and Pakistan, among others.

Competition from Without – and Within

Aerosonde 4.7
(click to view full)

The UAV field continues to change quickly. The latest US Navy ISR contract will have ScanEagle competing against the Aerosonde-G for naval buys of UAV services, and against both AAI’s Aerosonde G and Arcturus’ T-20 for land-based surveillance missions. SOCOM’s MEUAS contracts have also become a de facto competition with AAI’s Aersonde.

Insitu’s flagship product will also have to contend with an internal competitor. The firm has begun to offer a next-generation “Integrator” platform, which was picked as the US Navy and Marine Corps’ next-generation RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS-II). It’s also reported that service contracts with other countries will begin incorporating the RQ-21, either as a main UAV or as a switch-in option.

The RQ-21A Integrator boosts endurance to over 24 hours, and raises maximum payload from about 13.2 pounds/ 6 kg to about 50 pounds / 23 kg. Wingspan rises from about 10.2 feet/ 3.1m to 15.8 feet/ 4.8m, and body length rises from 3.9 feet/ 12m to 7 feet/ 2.1m. Its sensor package will be a bit more versatile, too, with TV zoom and mid-wave infrared cameras, plus an infrared marker and a laser rangefinder (but not, yet, a target designator), all in a single package, instead of the ScanEagle’s swap-in options. Launch and recovery methods are the same as the ScanEagle’s, and use the same equipment.

Integrator will not be covered in this article except for contracts that shift away from the ScanEagle to the new platform, and equally significant milestones that affect ScanEagle’s future.

Contracts and Key Events: 2008 – Present

Unless otherwise noted, contracts are issued by the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD. As of July 2008, Insitu Inc. is a Boeing subsidiary. Note that RQ-21A Integrator contracts won’t be covered here, unless they have a substantial impact on the ScanEagle’s future.

Small boat pickup
(click to view full)

May 14/13: Japan. Insitu Pacific delivers a ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to its partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan, for a 12-month operational evaluation by the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF, see July 11/12 entry). Insitu.

April 24/13: OEF, etc. A $7.8 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to exercise an option for ScanEagle/ Nighteagle services until March 2014, in Afghanistan and around the world. $3.6 million is committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, using FY 2013 Navy wartime supplemental operations and maintenance funds (N00019-11-C-0061).

April 24/13: NanoSAR next. ImSAR LLC in Springville, UT receives an $8.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification, for “research services in support of the ultra-small aperture radar” (q.v. May 29/12 entry). This brings the contract’s cumulative value to $32.8 million.

ImSAR are the makers of the NanoSAR and Leonardo radars. US Army Contracting Command in Natick, MA manages this contract (W911QY-12-D-0011, 0006).

March 8/13: OEF. Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA receives a $7.8 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for ScanEagle operational and maintenance services in Afghanistan, including both day and night operations.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in January 2014. $3.6 million is committed immediately, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30/13 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Feb 18/13: UAE. Boeing broadens their ScanEagle support and sustainment agreement with the UAE’s ADASI (vid. Nov 15/11 entry), adding marketing services within the Middle East and North Africa, training services, and the new Integrator UAV. Boeing VP Debbie Rub reiterated to Gulfnews that this is:

“Not a contract but an agreement to work together. No particular value right now but the region needs this capability so they are working together so that we can grow this sort of business. There are intensions [sic] with Adasi to establish this as the centre in the Middle East for the ScanEagle and Intergrator contracts.”

See: Boeing | Arabian Aerospace | Gulfnews.

Feb 8/13: Iranian copies. The regime’s PressTV is now showing photos of a production line for ScanEagle UAV knock-offs.

Back on Dec 17/12, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi had said that Iran was producing copies of the ScanEagle, based on drones it had captured. The Iranian regime says a lot of things about its military capabilities, most of which are fodder only for comedians and the credulous. This report, on the other hand, was plausible.

Iran has significant aerospace reverse engineering expertise, which it has built up to keep its fleet of American fighters and helicopters in the air. They also have some UAV expertise, and Iranian UAVs launched from Lebanon have been shot down over Israel. Iranian copies may not have the same performance and features as ScanEagle, but it’s reasonable to conclude that for once, Iran is making a military claim in line with its demonstrated capabilities. Iran’s PressTV.

Nov 16/12: OEF. Insitu Inc. in Bingen, WA receives a $12.1 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for pre and post deployment operations and services involving ScanEagle UAVs in Afghanistan. The contract mentions both electro-optical and mid-wave infrared imagery, and in 2013 the new MWIR/EO turret will let the company offer both of those options, without requiring the UAV to land and switch (q.v. Aug 7/12 entry).

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in August 2013. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/13 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Nov 16/12: AOL Defense calls attention to Insitu’s business model of providing turnkey services, as the US military prepares to cut in-theater deployments and surveillance, standardize its UAVs, and bring operations and maintenance in house.

Meanwhile, the civilian market isn’t ready yet. That’s partly because of issues around certification in civil air space, and partly because all Insitu UAVs must be sold as weapons through the USA’s ITAR process. As an example, oil companies who want to use ScanEagle are told that they can’t have any non-US citizens aboard the operating platform. Things are going well in Australia with government agencies and civil fight authorities, but that won’t be enough.

Insitu is trying to get a version of the ScanEagle designated as a commercial commodity, and they estimate that the RQ-21A Integrator program will be worth $500 million over 10 years. Even so, AOL Defense is probably right that the Boeing subsidiary is about to take a financial hit.

Oct 30/12: UAV + UGS. Insitu Pacific in Queensland, Australia announces that integration between ScanEagle and McQ’s iScout Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS)/ OmniWatch technologies is complete. McQ’s UGS is in widespread service with the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Energy and “a range of international customers.”

The project enables UGS target detection alerts to be automatically displayed within ScanEagle’s Insitu I-MUSE multiple UAS controller software. The iScout sensor automatically sends a notification to I-MUSE, displaying the target location, detection type (seismic, magnetic, acoustic or infrared) and other relevant information. The operator is then able to automatically focus the ScanEagle’s sensors on the new contact to verify the data provided by iScout and OmniWatch, and to continue to track the target once it has moved beyond the OmniWatch camera range. Insitu.

Oct 10/12: Compact CLRE. The US Office of Naval Research is funding tests of the ScanEagle Compact Launch and Recovery System (CLRE), which combines the Skyhook recovery system with a compressed air launcher for the UAV. The end result is more compact than the traditional piston launcher/ skyhook combination, which is a big advantage for smaller boats and ships. ONR adds that:

“The system currently is trailer mounted for testing and ease of towing behind ground vehicles, but Insitu is exploring modifications of this version for rapid deployments. Its turntable base allows for mounting to a variety of integration structures.”

Skyhook recovery
(click to view full)

Sept 26/12: Upgrades. Boeing subsidiary Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA receives a $12.4 million delivery order for the hardware required to modernize the ScanEagle and its ancillary equipment. See Aug 7/12 for more details of what the upgrades entail; the hardware contract also includes replacements, using upgraded air vehicles and components.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in May 2013. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, which is almost immediately. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-12-G-0008).

Sept 17/12: OEF. Insitu Inc. in Bingen, WA receives a $7.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for pre and post deployment operations and services involving ScanEagle UAVs in Afghanistan. The contract mentions both electro-optical and mid-wave infrared imagery, and in 2013 the new MWIR/EO turret will let the company offer both of those options, without requiring the UAV to land and switch (q.v. Aug 7/12 entry).

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in August 2013. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Aug 21/12: OEF. Insitu in Bingen, WA, is awarded a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for additional ScanEagle operations and maintenance in Afghanistan, using both daytime EO and IR night sensors. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA and is expected to be complete in August 2013 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Aug 9/12: Netherlands. A Dutch ScanEagle is launched on its first anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden, from the amphibious ship HNLMS Rotterdam. The LPD embarked the UAVs, catapult, and command station, plus a 19-soldier Army contingent. Dutch MvD [in Dutch].

Aug 8/12: Comms. relay. Boeing touts a smaller, lighter version of its Tactical Compact Communications Relay (TCCR). The 1.6-pound TCCR extends the range of line-of-sight military handheld radios from under 10 nautical miles to more than 150, and has been operating in Afghanistan. The new 1-pound version does the same, and will fit into a 5″ x 5″ x 1″ slot in the ScanEagle’s payload bay.

The new TCCR has been tested on several other UAVs, including the Schiebel Camcopter S-100, and Boeing plans to demonstrate a civilian set that could support emergency response or other commercial applications.

Aug 7/12: Netherlands. Insitu Inc. announces that the Dutch military can now fly the ScanEagle under a limited military aircraft type-classification certificate from the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) of the Netherlands.

The Dutch needed that, because they intend to operate the UAVs over their own country as well as abroad. Both sides were motivated, so the certification milestone was achieved in just 4 months. Note that this isn’t a full civilian certification, but it will definitely help. Insitu.

Aug 7/12: Sensors. Insitu Inc. announces that it’s conducting field evaluations of 2 new turrets for ScanEagle. Both turrets will be available in the first half of 2013, and better power draw will help make switch-ins easier.

The new Hood Technology Corp. Vision MWIR/EO turret means customers won’t have to choose any more between zoom cameras or mid-wave infrared thermal imaging on their ScanEagles. Insitu’s larger RQ-21A Integrator was already offering both modes, and competitive pressure makes it an important advance.

Hood’s SuperEO turret has already been in service for about a year, providing 5x better stabilization than its predecessor. The newest SuperEO Enhanced turret lets operators track, zoom and focus while maintaining positive identification, thanks to a sophisticated gimbal mechanism and a picture-in-picture display. Losing the target of interest when the camera moves has long been an annoying problem for many UAVs, especially small ones.

July 11/12: Japan. Insitu Pacific in Queensland, Australia announces a contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), to deliver ScanEagle systems for comprehensive operational evaluation by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (Army).

It’s more than just an evaluation, as the ScanEagles will be operated by the JGSDF during this period to assist in disaster recovery, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Having said all that, it isn’t a long-term win yet, either.

May 29/12: NanoSAR next. ImSAR LLC in Salem, UT receives a $24 million firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to build, test, and assess a lightweight ultra wideband Synthetic Aperture Radar for use on small unmanned aerial vehicles. ImSAR makes the NAnoSAR, and this looks like the contract to develop its successor.

Work will be performed in Salem, UT with an estimated completion date of May 31/17. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by US Army Contracting Command in Natick, MA (W911QY-12-D-0011).

May 15/12: Insitu, Inc., Bingen, WA receives a $35.5 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for additional ScanEagle and NightEagle services in Afghanistan.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and will run to December 2012. All Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-11-C-0061).

May 4/12: Over in Australia. The ScanEagle has made its last flight for Australia, and its leased services are being replaced with Textron’s RQ-7B Shadow UAVs bought under Project JP129.

While Boeing contractors provided assistance and operational services, about 180 Australian Defence Force personnel deployed in support of the ScanEagle, mostly from 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, with elements from 16th Air Defence Regiment, Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation, 1st Topographic Survey Squadron and 16th Aviation Brigade. During its 5 years in operation in Afghanistan, ScanEagles flew about 32,000 hours in more than 6,200 missions. Australian Army | Ottawa Citizen.

April 4/12: Hydrogen-powered. Boeing’s Insitu announces that the ScanEagle has completed a hydrogen-powered test flight, using a 1,500-watt fuel cell by United Technologies and a hydrogen fueling solution by the US Naval Research Laboratory. They add that this ScanEagle is lighter than the traditional model, which means more room for equipment. On the other hand, the release didn’t discuss the effects on range and endurance, which are more critical traits for this UAV. Earth Techling.

Feb 9/12: Exports. An AOL Defense report offers an expanded list of ScanEagle operators, as well as 3 more potential export clients:

“Navy leaders are considering foreign military sales of the Scan Eagle to Kuwait, Pakistan and the Netherlands, according to a presentation by Marine Corps Col. James Rector, head of the small tactical unmanned aerial systems division at Naval Air Systems Command. Aside from the U.S. Navy, the Scan Eagle is being flown by naval forces in Colombia, Tunisia, Poland and Iraq, according to PowerPoint slides from Rector’s speech at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s annual program review in Washington yesterday.”

The Netherlands is already using ScanEagle as an interim UAV; presumably, Dutch discussions represent long-term lease or purchase options. Previous reports have suggested that Boeing is offering ScanEagle leases with provisions to switch part-way through, and use the larger and more advanced RQ-21 Integrator platform (vid. June 16/10 entry).

Jan 25/12: NightEagle. Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA receives an $20 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for ScanEagle operational and maintenance services. These services will provide electro-optical/infrared and mid-wave infrared (NightEagle) imagery in support of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in May 2012. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Jan 22/12: Closing time approaches. First flight of an Early Operational Capability (EOC) RQ-21A STUAS Integrator UAV at the USMC’s Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, CA, 16 months after the contract is awarded. USMC UAV Squadron VMU-3 will deploy the RQ-21A within the USA, while a government-contractor team works with the system, and develops tactics, techniques, and procedures on the way to formal Initial Operational Capability (IOC), and then Full Operational Capability (FOC).

As those milestones are reached, Insitu’s ScanEagle will fade from use. US NAVAIR: “RQ-21A will eventually replace the Navy and Marine ISR services contract in which current ISR missions are conducted in Iraq, Afghanistan and shipboard.”

Aussie ScanEagle
(click to view full)

Nov 28/11: Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA receives an $12 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for ScanEagle operational and maintenance services. These services will provide electro-optical/infrared and mid-wave infrared (NightEagle) imagery in support of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in January 2012. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-11-C-0061).

Nov 15/11: UAE. Insitu Inc. announces a partnership with Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments Company (ADASI), to perform joint support and sustainment activities on Insitu’s ScanEagle and Integrator UAS.

Oct 6/11: Canada. Insitu Inc. announces that its Canadian clients have successfully used ScanEagle UAVs during Operation Nanook in Canada’s Northwest Passage. The exercise focused around an Arctic major air disaster (MAJAID) simulation, and ScanEagle was deployed by Insitu and its partner ING Engineering to identify traversable ground routes, watch for polar bear threats, and monitor day-to-day iceberg movements. Insitu and ING UAS operators launched and retrieved the aircraft, then handed control over to the Canadian Forces and stood by to provide technical assistance as needed. Commanders in tactical operations centers (TOC) at 74 degrees north and troops on the ground received real-time video.

The exercise itself is not as significant as ScanEagle’s proof of use in polar environments. Insitu | Canada DND on Operation Nanook 11 | Canada DND Nanook 2011 photos.

Sept 30/11: Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA received a $7.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for major end items and parts to be used in the ScanEagle system. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete by January 2012. This contract was not competitively procured by the US Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division in Panama City Beach, FL (N61331-11-C-0011).

May – August 2011: Comm relay. Boeing announces successful May and August demonstrations of ScanEagle’s new narrowband communications relay, using an Insitu ScanEagle and AeroVironment’s Puma AE mini-UAV. During the multiservice demonstrations, held in California, the UAVs flew at a variety of altitudes while linking handheld military radios dispersed over mountainous regions, extending the radios’ range tenfold.

Larger RQ-7B Shadow UAVs have also been used in this role, but those are generally controlled at the battalion level or above. Narrowband relays small enough to work on mini-UAVs would represent an important step forward, especially for Special Operations forces.

May 31/11: Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA received a $46 million firm-fixed-price-contract to provide deployment services and flight hours in support of the ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), including electro-optical/infrared and mid-wave infrared imagery in support of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan. In practice, this means both ScanEagle and NightEagle platforms; looks like the April 9/11 short-term contract went well.

Services will encompass both operation and maintenance of the ScanEagle UAS, to provide real-time imagery and data to USMC personnel. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA and in the field, and is expected to be complete in May 2012. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-2 (N00019-11-C-0061).

June 2011: Insitu’s inception. The Smithsonian Institute’s magazine profiles the story behind Insitu and the ScanEagle, as part of a feature describing the evolution of UAVs toward civilian roles. Boeing bought the firm for about $400 million, in July 2008. Read “Drones are Ready for Takeoff“.

May 26/11: Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA received an $83.7 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite- quantity contract for operations and maintenance services to support government-owned ScanEagle systems, including: multiple training courses ranging from system pilot training, maintenance and operations, to mission coordinator and payload operator; multiple kits for sustainment, payload and engine module kits; and multiple spare parts for ScanEagle UAS.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and will run until May 2012. $62.7 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11. There’s only one ScanEagle manufacturer, and this contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-2 (N00019-11-C-0012).

April 14/11: Insitu awards small business qualifier ArgenTech Solutions a contract to provide field service representative (FSR) services for the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS), at locations worldwide. It’s an initial 1-year contract that includes options for 2 additional years.

April 9/11: Boeing receives a $12.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for “additional Mid-Wave Infrared Unmanned Aerial Systems, intelligence reconnaissance surveillance services in for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.” Sounds like an order for NightEagle services in Afghanistan.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (65%), and St. Louis, MO (35%), and is expected to be complete in May 2011. The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract (N00019-08-C-0050).

Feb 22/11: Boeing receives a $5.7 million firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract modification for “additional persistent unmanned aerial vehicle intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services in support of naval maritime missions.” ScanEagles featured prominently in the April 2009 rescue of an American vessel from Somali pirates, for example.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (65%), and St. Louis, MO (35%), and is expected to be complete in November 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11 (N00019-08-D-0013).

SECC test
(click to view full)

Dec 30/10: Boeing receives a $14.5 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for additional “persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle services in support of Marine Corps combat missions.”

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (97%), and St. Louis, MO (3%), and is expected to be complete in February 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11 (N00019-09-C-0050).

Dec 28/10: A $68.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for “full-motion video from commercial un-manned air intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms across Iraq. Work will be completed in Baghdad, Iraq, with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/11. The bid was solicited through the Internet with 2 bids received by U.S. Central Command in Baghdad, Iraq (M67854-07-D-2052).

Dec 3/10: Weapons? Aviation Week reports that the US Navy is working on weapons that could give even the ScanEagle UAV hunter-killer capability. The 2 pound next-generation weapon management system (WMS GEN2) has been tested in the lab, and the development team is now looking at using the WMS GEN2 with the 5 pound NAWCAD Spike mini-missile, the Scan Eagle Guided Munition (SEGM), and a GPS-Guided Munition (G2M, likely the RCFC).

Sept 27/10: Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $5.7 million not-to-exceed indefinite-delivery /indefinite-quantity contract modification for 2,100 hours of persistent UAV intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services in support of US Navy and USMC missions.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (94%, Insitu subsidiary) and St. Louis, MO (6%), and the contract will end in September 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 20/10 (N00019-08-D-0013).

Integrator platform
(click to view full)

July 29/10: No ScanEagles for STUAS-II. Boeing subsidiary Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA wins a $43.7 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to provide its new Integrator UAVs under the USMC’s the small tactical unmanned aircraft system/Tier II unmanned aircraft system III (STUAS-II) competition. But the UAV that beats competitors like Raytheon’s KillerBee 4 is not a ScanEagle. Instead, it’s Insitu’s new Integrator UAV – which may herald the beginning of the end for ScanEagle. Integrator also uses catapult launch, and is recovered using the same Skyhook recovery systems as ScanEagle.

We won’t be covering other Integrator contracts in this article, just milestones that are relevant to ScanEagle’s future.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (46.7%), Hood River, OR (45.6%), and Melbourne, FL (7.7%). Work is expected to be completed in September 2012, but $788,931 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals, with 4 proposals received by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ (N68335-10-C-0054). Insitu.

June 16/10: Poland. Reports surface that Poland has joined the customer list for Boeing’s leased ScanEagle UAV services, but details are scarce. At 15-20 hours endurance, ScanEagle offers longer on station time than leased Aeronautics DS’ Aerostars’ 8-12 hours. On the other hand, the Aerostar offers 110 pounds of payload, while ScanEagle offers just 13 pounds.

Shepard Group adds that Insitu has qualified a Mk4 catapult launcher, which will be compatible with both ScanEagle and Integrator, and is “ready to ship the launcher to an undisclosed customer in Afghanistan.” The Insitu spokesperson told them that around 35 ScanEagle systems of 5-10 UAVs each were operational with Australian, Canadian, Polish and US forces.

Aviation Week reports that Boeing is also in talks with a number of European countries to lease ScanEagle UAV services, with the option of an upgrade to their Insitu subsidiary’s slightly larger and more advanced Integrator UAV later on. Aviation Week | Shepard Group | StrategyPage.

June 12/10: Boeing receives a $59.5 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0050) to provide 3,300 flight hours of persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance UAV services to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (97%), and St. Louis, MO (3%); and is expected to be complete in December 2010. $29.75 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10.

June 8/10: FAA tests. Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. signs a cooperative research development agreement with the USA’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in order to guide the development of recommendations for UAV use in civil airspace. The research will be managed by the FAA’s Research and Technology Development Office and conducted at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ. Insitu | FAA Fact Sheet.

Insitu will provide a ScanEagle system, related support hardware and data, and UAV training for FAA pilots and maintenance staff. Insitu will also supply documentation related to the ScanEagle UAS, including an open invitation for FAA personnel to visit Insitu.

June 2/10: Canada. Insitu announces that its ScanEagle has logged more than 17,000 combat flight hours and 1,700 sorties with the Canadian Forces, as part of a “rent a drone” service operated by their Canadian partner ING Engineering. ScanEagle has been deployed with the Canadian Forces in theater since 2008 and has completed a successful maritime flight demonstration aboard the Kingston Class patrol vessel HMCS Glace Bay.

May 13/10: Insitu Inc. announces that it has demonstrated its heavy fuel engine-configured ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to he U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, in conjunction with the Joint Systems Integration Laboratory (JSIL). The tests at Fort Rucker, AL demonstrated interoperability between ScanEagle video with metadata and the U.S. Army’s One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT), a digital video encrypted data feed, a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) sensor for night scans, and Insitu’s stabilized airborne target tracking system.

May 12/10: SECC. Boeing tests its ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC), whose 132-inch wingspan and folding aero surfaces let it be carried in a container and launched from an aircraft pylon, or a submarine. It’s recovered using the same SkyHook system as a regular ScanEagle.

ScanEagle SECC is powered by a 6 hp heavy-fuel engine. The test launched it from a ground vehicle, whereupon it flew an autonomous 75 minute flight plan at various altitudes, and provided streaming video to a nearby ground station. Boeing | Boeing feature w. video.

April 29/10: Insitu Inc. announces that its ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) recently exceeded 300,000 combat flight hours since its 1st operational flight in 2002, and accounted for approximately 22% of the 550,000 hours that American UAVs flew in 2009.

April 14/10: An $11 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0050) to provide 6,600 flight hours of persistent ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) unmanned aircraft vehicle services in support of naval maritime missions. Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (97%), and St. Louis, MO (3%), and is expected to be complete in June 2010. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

March 16/10: Boeing subsidiary Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA received an $8.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for technical services in support of the ScanEagle UAS, to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. In addition, this contract covers 6 critical spare kits and 9 SkyHook recovery system modifications.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $8.4 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-2 (N00019-10-C-0045).

Feb 19/10: A $6.1 million not-to-exceed modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-08-D-0013) to provide 300 hours of persistent UAV intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services in support of naval maritime missions.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (65%) and St. Louis, MO (35%), and is expected to be complete in July 2010. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

ScanEagle UAV
(click for alternate view)

Dec 18/09: Bandit datalink. Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. announces that a flight test with L-3 Communication Systems-West’s Bandit digital data link worked “well in excess of range requirements.” Insitu is integrating the Bandit digital data link into its ScanEagle, NightEagle and Integrator UAVs. Bandit is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) capable and ROVER 4/ 5 compatible. This test was conducted using the Integrator UAV, but tests also happened on a ScanEagle earlier in 2009.

Dec 1/09: USCG. Aviation Week reports that the US Coast Guard is still considering its UAV options:

“As part of its ongoing analysis, the service has participated in numerous exercises with other platforms [beyond the MQ-8B]… including Boeing’s A160 Hummingbird, an AeroVironment vehicle and ScanEagle tested on board a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship.”

Nov 25/09: The University of North Dakota (UND) receives its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS), to be used in Department of Defense (DOD) contracted research providing data for UAS national airspace integration. UND is a designated State Center of Excellence for UAS Research, Education and Training, and funds for this project were provided by a USAF research contract. UND Associate Professor of Aviation and Director of Program Development for the UAS Center of Excellence, Douglas Marshall, in Insitu’s Press release:

“To date, the university’s only fully trained operators and maintenance technicians are UND employees and primarily flight instructors. We hope to integrate a ScanEagle system into our curriculum and allow students to fly the system against a radar test bed, while learning to operate the UAS itself.”

Nov 24/09: Canada. Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. announces a successful ScanEagle flight demonstration aboard Canada’s Kingston class coastal patrol vessel HMCS Glace Bay [MM 701]. The demonstration was conducted by the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre (CFMWC), and included an in-flight handoff of the ScanEagle by Canadian Navy personnel aboard HMCS Glace Bay to a ground control station (GCS) operated by Canadian Army personnel at Naval Base Halifax.

Oct 19/09: ScanEagle wins C4ISR Magazine’s 2009 C4ISR Platforms Category Award. Insitu release | C4ISR Magazine.

Sept 28/09: Sensors – MagEagle? Boeing receives a $275,000 contract from the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to study of the magnetic noise associated with the heavy-fuel propulsion system on Boeing’s MagEagle Compressed Carriage (MECC) ScanEagle variant. The MagEagle is being designed and built to be magnetically quiet, in order to help it locate, track and attack submarines using a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) system that picks up the changes in earth’s magnetic field caused by large metal objects.

Boeing envisions MECC as another UAV extension of the manned P-8A Poseidon aircraft, launchable from the aircraft itself. They will begin testing the MECC sensor system, vehicle integration, and magnetic noise reduction in 2010. Boeing.

Aug 11/09: Insitu announces that ScanEagle recently surpassed the mark of 200,000 operational flight hours since 2004.

Aug 5/09: Insitu marks more than 2,500 combat flight hours and more than 300 shipboard sorties with its heavy fuel engine (HFE) ScanEagle since flight-testing began in 2006, which. ScanEagle HFE has been deployed aboard the destroyers USS Mahan and USS Milius, and uses the same JP-5 kerosene-based diesel fuel commonly used in jet aircraft engines, as opposed to the more flammable and dangerous auto gas. Other advantages include simple starting and operation, a wider weather envelope, improved reliability and increased endurance.

Insitu developed the engine in partnership with combustion system experts Sonex Research, Inc. in Annapolis, MD.

July 9/09: #1,000. Insitu Inc. marks delivery of its 1,000th ScanEagle, and announces that it is expanding its UAS manufacturing capacity.

May 27/09: Canada. Boeing announces $25 million in contracts to Canadian industry, as part of its $30 million industrial offsets commitment following Canada UAV services order. See also April 6/09 entry.

Winners include: ING Engineering Inc. (field services), MKS (MKS Integrity software and consulting services for program life-cycle management), and NovAtel (ScanEagle GPS).

April 13/09: The Boeing Co. in St. Louis, MO received a $45.4 million ceiling-priced, unfinalized contract to provide persistent UAV services from land bases on the Afghan front.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (65%) and St. Louis, MO (35%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $22.7 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR(Federal Acquisition Regulations) 6.302-2 (N00019-09-C-0050).

April 6-12/09: During this week, ScanEagle UAVs flew their 150,000th hour in service with the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Forces, U.S. Navy, U.S. Special Operations Command, Australian Army and Canadian Forces. Boeing release.

April 1/09: Boeing subsidiary Insitu, Inc. in Bingen, WA received a $20.9 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply ScanEagle Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) hardware for 4 operational sites, 3 spare/operational float packages, and critical spares kits in support of the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA, and is expected to be complete in July 2009. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-2 (N00019-09-C-0005).

March 16/09: Australia – AWACS compatibility. Boeing’s two-fer. Australia’s Project JP129 failure has created an opening for Boeing’s ScanEagle UAV, but its flagship “Wedgetail” E-737 AWACS faces questions. Boeing responded by linking 2 birds with one datalink: a live demonstration in which a not-yet-delivered Wedgetail aircraft flying over Washington State, USA controlled and received sensor data from 3 ScanEagle UAVs.

The 3 ScanEagles were launched from Boeing’s Boardman Test Facility in eastern Oregon, approximately 120 miles/ 190 km away from the airborne Wedgetail. Using the company’s UAS battle-management software, airborne operators issued NATO-standard sensor and air-vehicle commands via a UHF satellite communication link and ground-station relay. Operators tasked the UAVs with area search, reconnaissance, point surveillance and targeting, while the UAVs sent back real-time video imagery of ground targets.

Boeing will conduct a follow-on demonstration for the Australian government in early May 2009 at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales. A Wedgetail will take control of ScanEagles operated by Boeing Defence Australia personnel at Woomera Test Facility in South Australia, approximately 1,080 miles/ 1,730 km from Williamtown.

March 2/09: Singapore. Boeing announces that Singapore has been putting their ScanEagle UAV through ship-based trials, including flight from the helicopter decks of an LST amphibious support ship and a frigate. Boeing Defence Australia provided a complete maritime ScanEagle system for the successful trials, including a ground control station, communication links, launcher and SkyHook recovery system. They were complemented by a Boeing/ Insitu support team that was deployed to Singapore.

Jan 21/09: EnerLinks datalink. Viasat subsidiary Enerdyne Technologies Inc. signs an agreement with Insitu Inc. to supply its EnerLinksII DVA digital data link technology for use in the ScanEagle UAV. The EnerLinksII DVA is a small 3″ x 5″ x 1″ module that’s placed between the ScanEagle’s sensors and the RF transmitter, using less than 8 watts and weighing under 0.5 pounds.

The concept of a DVA (Digital Video over Analog) system involves simple conversion of older FM analog video links to encrypted digital links, without replacing any of the RF equipment in either the aircraft or the ground. EnerLinksII’s improved digital performance improves both UAV video link range and bandwidth use by a factor of 4, and can transmit 2 Mbps of IP data simultaneously with compressed FMV (Full Motion Video). Features include H.264 compression, IP multiplexing, AES encryption, FEC coding, and modulation waveshaping.

Jan 7/09: Boeing subsidiary Insitu announces that its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system has just completed its 1,500th shipboard sortie in service with the U.S. Navy.

Mk.V launches ScanEagle
(click to view full)

Nov 26/08: Sensors – shot locator. The US Office of Naval Research and Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division discuss a Navy Expeditionary Overwatch (NEO) program exercise, which involved US Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) sailors deploying a ScanEagle UAV, a manned Humvee with “Gunslinger” shot location and counterfire system, and an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) on a successful mission to detect and engage fictional insurgents over a 10 square mile radius.

The Gunslinger Humvee’s remote-control gun is operated by a gunner who sits at a control panel in the back seat. The Mk 45 weapons system is hooked up to video and infrared cameras connected to a set of sensors designed to detect gunfire, including a device that watches for muzzle flashes and listens for gunshots. It then points the remote-controlled weapons system on the Hummer’s roof at the source of fire.

At the Potomac River NEO demonstration, warfighters in the Humvee used the Gunslinger’s acoustic detection package and infrared sensors to determine the location of hostile fire and automatically move the weapon in the direction of the fire for friendly force response. The 36-foot-long semi-autonomous USV was also equipped with a Gunslinger payload and a range of sensors and communications systems. US Navy release | The Register re: Gunslinger..

Nov 12/08: Boeing receives a $65 million estimated value modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery indefinite quantity “Interim UAS” contract, exercising an option for “persistent unmanned aerial system intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance services in support of Global War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom sea-based deployments and land-based detachments.” That’s milspeak for contractor operation and maintenance of ScanEagle UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Work will be performed in Bingen, WA (65%); and St. Louis, MO (35%), and is expected to be complete in November 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $6.8 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (N00019-08-D-0013).

Nov 6/08: Canada. Canada issues a MERX solicitation (W8486-09MGSL/A) for a leased small UAV service. Canada is already leasing ScanEagle UAVs that can fulfill the MERX requirements: 90% operational availability, 12 hours on station, ability to gather and transmit high quality imagery from a distance of 50km.

Aug 6/08: Sensors – SWIR. Boeing and Goodrich Corporation announce that they have successfully flight-tested a ScanEagle unmanned aircraft equipped for the first time with a short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera. A SWIR camera can see more effectively in fog, rain or when little or no heat is radiated, which makes it especially useful for maritime surveillance. Boeing release.

May 28/08: NanoSAR. The NanoSAR test program continues, as Boeing, ImSAR and Insitu Inc. achieve real-time processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data aboard a ScanEagle UAV which is also equipped with a standard inertially stabilized electro-optical (EO) camera. The tests marked the first time SAR and EO capabilities have flown together on such a small, lightweight platform, and involved real-time SAR processing with streaming radar images displayed on the ground station. Creating real-time images onboard ScanEagle eliminates the requirement of either processing imagery on the ground after flight or using high-speed data links to a ground station. Insitu release.

April 29/08: Insitu announces that the ScanEagle has now surpassed 50,000 combat flight hours with the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEF) in Iraq and 1,000 shipboard recoveries with the U.S. Navy.

April 22/08: Testing. Insitu announces that it has flown Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) equipped ScanEagles in Iraq, in cooperation with the US Navy. Heavy fuel refers to the kerosene-based fuel used in diesel and/or jet aircraft engines such as JP5, JP8, or Jet-A. ScanEagles flying in Iraq are using naval JP5 fuel, which is designed to be safer aboard ships.

The effort involved Insitu, Boeing, and Sonex Research Inc. in Annapolis, MD. The effort took 2 years of development and included over 2000 hours of testing, including a new ScanEagle flight endurance mark of 28 hours, 44 minutes using JP5. Insitu release.

Feb 7/08: US AFSOC. Air Force Special Operations Command, as the lead command for small unmanned aircraft systems, highlights the capabilities of the Scan Eagle during a demonstration at the Eglin Air Force Base test range. AFSOC has been training with the 820th Security Forces Group from Moody Air Force Base, GA since September 2007, to employ the system. AFSOC release.

Feb 7/08: USN SEALs. A Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle is launched from a MK V naval special warfare boat off the coast of San Clemente Island. This is the first time a Scan Eagle, used for various applications such as intelligence gathering and battle damage assessment, has been launched from this kind of platform. Insitu photo links.

Jan 14/08: USN’s Interim UAS. Jane’s reports that:

“Industry rivals are waiting to hear if they have ousted the Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from its role as provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support for US Navy ships at sea. A decision on the interim Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) contract, which will provide ISR imagery services to warships and to the US Marine Corps into the next decade, is expected in late January or early February 2008.”

Other competitors are thought to include AAI Corporation’s long-endurance Mk 4 Aerosonde, Aurora Flight Sciences’ vertical take-off and landing GoldenEye 80, BAE Systems’ Skylynx II, MTC Technologies’ Spyhawk T-16 and Raytheon/Swift Engineering’s Killer Bee. Insitu link.

UPDATE: the decision took until June 2008, and ScanEagle won.

NanoSAR on ScanEagle
(click to view full)

Jan 7/08: Sensors – NanoSAR. Boeing, Insitu, and ImSAR conduct a successful flight-test for the tiny NanoSAR Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard a ScanEagle UAV. The NanoSAR is a 2-pound system about the size of a shoebox, which is a couple orders of magnitude lighter than most SAR systems. As a sign of the times, “import to Google Earth” is an option for the system.

As a comparison, the I-Master SAR aboard Britain’s new Watchkeeper UAVs is considered small at 65 pounds. SAR radars aren’t an all-purpose replacement for ScanEagle’s existing electro-optical sensors, but they’re a very important complement because of their ability to see through fog, dust, et. al. The issue for NanoSAR will be providing acceptable resolution and coverage despite its tiny size.

Targets for the 1.5 hour test flight at the Boardman, OR test range included vehicles, structures and corner reflectors. Data collection worked as planned, and SAR imagery was later created on the ground. The next step in flight testing will be to create imagery aboard the UA in real time. Boeing release | ImSAR on NanoSAR | Insitu re: NanoSAR.

Additional Readings

• Insitu – ScanEagle System. ScanEagle is closely derived from the “Insight” base platform.

• Smithsonian Magazine (June 2011) – Drones are Ready for Takeoff

• DoD Buzz (Oct 6/09) – FAA Acts or Drones Stop Flying. “Army drones will have to curtail training and operational flights by fiscal 2012 in the United States unless the FAA approves some form of UAS deconfliction, a top Army UAS official says.”

• IEEE Spectrum (January 2009) – Winner: Radio Eye in the Sky. Covers the concept of ultra-small SAR surface-looking radars.

• DID (June 12/07) – Boeing Operating ScanEagle UAVs for Australia. The rent-a-UAV concept gains another customer. See also corporate site.

• Flight International (June 6/07) – Evergreen alliance with Insitu for civil UAV market. “Semi-civil” might be a better way of putting it. They will use Insitu’s Insight platform.

• DID (Jan 26/07) – ScanEagle + ShotSpotter = Sniper Spotter

• Inc. Magazine (June 1/06) – How I Did It: Steven Sliwa, CEO and president, The Insitu Group

• DID (June 8/06) – ScanEagle to Detect Biological Agents. The program is called ScanEagle BCAS.

India’s fleet of Soviet-era maritime patrol aircraft has been upgraded, but it needs to be replaced. Indian naval responsibilities are growing, and the 2008 terrorist atrocities in Mumbai made it crystal-clear that control of their coasts was a necessity. Fortunately, they already had a competition underway. In December 2005, after an attempted buy of Lockheed Martin P-3s fell through, India’s navy had floated an RFP for at least 8 new sea control aircraft. Bids from a variety of contenders, including Lockheed Martin, were submitted in April 2007. Subsequent statements by India’s Admiral Prakash suggested that they could be looking for as many as 30 aircraft by 2020.

The plan had been for price negotiations to be completed in 2007, with first deliveries to commence within 48 months. India’s Ministry of Defence has extreme problems with announced schedules, but their existing fleet was wearing out, international requests for India’s maritime patrol help are rising, and Mumbai’s events provided an extra shove. By January 2009, India had picked its aircraft: the 737-derivative P-8i Neptune, a variant of the P-8A that’s readying for service as the P-3′s successor within the US Navy. DID discusses the geopolitical drivers, the current fleet, the known competitors, Boeing’s P-8i, and key contracts and events.

With Growing Naval Power Comes Growing Naval Responsibility

(click to view full)

The competition and refurbishment efforts are being given greater impetus by international developments. In February 2006, IPT reported that warning bells have been sounded at an international summit over the mounting terrorist threats to sea lanes around Indonesia and the Straits of Malacca, which serves as a choke-point for a significant percentage of global shipping. At a subsequent high-level meeting in the United States that included Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and others, Stratfor reported that India was asked to play a major policing role against sea-piracy in the region.

Successful procurement of modern maritime patrol aircraft would certainly expand India’s capabilities, as its naval responsibilities undergo rapid growth. To the west, India is also undertaking anti-piracy efforts on the East African coast, with a base in Madagascar and a recent military co-operation agreement with Mozambique that includes coastal patrol responsibilities.

Heron UAV, India
(click to view larger)

The Indian Navy currently relies on its fleet of around 15 Dornier 228-101 aircraft and 12 Israeli Searcher Mark II and Heron unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor India’s 7,516 km long coastline, 1,197 islands and a 2.01 square km exclusive economic zone.

Additional patrols and interdiction within and beyond that area are undertaken by its 8 ultra-long-range TU-142 Bear aircraft and its remaining IL-38 May maritime surveillance aircraft, which have been upgraded to IL-38SD status. The IL-38SDs was expected to rise to 5 operational planes the by end of 2008, but the planes have been a flashpoint for controversy due to a May 14/07 report from India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which said that the first 2 are missing essential avionics and weapon systems that are “seriously limiting their operational capabilities.”

New resources are needed. At the low end, India is buying Dornier 228NGs. A mid-tier option is under consideration, but at the high end, India decided that the Boeing’s P-8i’s fast long-range cruise, and advanced ground and ocean monitoring systems, made it their best option for patrolling the Indian Ocean’s vast expanses.

India’s P-8is will be based from Naval Air Station Rajali, at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu. It’s also the base for India’s current fleet of 8 Tu-142 ‘Bear’ aircraft, offering a long runway, and a southern location which increases the planes’ patrol coverage over the Indian Ocean.

P-8i: Program Timeline & Industrial Participants

P-8i concept, armed
(click to view full)

In November 2005, India’s $133 million deal for 2 P-3C Orion maritime-optimized patrol and surveillance planes fell through on grounds of expense, support costs, and timing. Apparently, it would have taken 18-24 months for the US Navy to retrofit the aircraft to the Indian Navy’s specifications, once the lease had been finalized.

In response, December 2005 featured an RFP that sought 8 aircraft, and threw the competition open. Bids were received from various candidates in April 2006, and initial schedules involved a signed contract by the end of 2007, and deliveries by the end of 2009. Of course, that didn’t happen. A July 2007 Defense News report said that an Indian procurement team would be sending preliminary evaluations to the Defence Ministry by September 2007, which would lead to a short list. A preliminary decision and price negotiations were scheduled to begin “within two years,” i.e. by mid-2009.

Experience has demonstrated that price negotiations with India’s MoD can take years themselves – or even sink deals entirely, vid. the various collapsed deals for second-hand Mirage 2000 fighter jets. In this case, however, the $2.1 billion deal for 8 jets was done by January 2009. By October 2010, India’s Navy was pushing to extend the buy, and enlarge its fleet of Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft to 12. Now, senior naval officials are openly talking about buying 24 jets.

First deliveries aren’t expected until 2013 at the earliest, and the jets are expected to enter service “before 2015.”

Confirmed weapons at this time include the Mk-54 lightweight torpedo, which can be enhanced with the HAAWC kit for high-altitude, GPS-guided drops. India has submitted a formal DSCA request for these torpedoes. For longer-range surface attacks, AGM-84 Harpoon Block II missiles are carried on external pylons. These sub-sonic cruise missiles can hit ships or land targets, thanks to a combination of GPS guidance, and improved radar resolution that can cut through near-shore clutter. Boeing reportedly has a license to export the longer-range AGM-84K SLAM-ER, which adds longer range and better land attack features, but India’s hasn’t formally requested them. Some pictures, like the one in this section, even show P-8Is carrying smart bombs. The P-8 is designed to be even more capable than its P-3 predecessor on overland surveillance missions, and adding weapons like GPS-guided bombs would give India a new capability for long-range, long-endurance surveillance and strike.

The P-8A has its own industrial team, and most of them will also be involved in the P-8i project. A number of electronic and sensor systems will differ, however, due to a combination of Indian insistence on indigenous content, and American security concerns that forced the use of alternatives. Industrial partners in India, or specific to India’s version, reportedly include:

(click to view full)

Contracts and Key Events

Deliveries begin
(click to view full)

May 15/13: #1 arrives. India inducts the 1st Boeing P-8i Neptune aircraft into their navy at the INS Rajali air station. Boeing says that it will deliver another 2 planes to India in 2013.

INS Rajali is the longest military runway in Asia, located just inland from Madras on India’s SE coast. It currently hosts India’s TU-142F fleet of long-range maritime patrol aircraft, and will be the P-8i’s future home. It also hosts the Indian Navy Helicopter Training School. Boeing | Times of India | Wall St. Journal India.

P-8i arrives in India

Jan 17/13: US DOT&E report. The Pentagon releases the FY 2012 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The P-8 is included, and the plane still has a lot of gaps and teething issues before it’s ready for service. The aircraft is working toward reliability goals, but its biggest problems lie with its sensors’ ability to work as advertised, and to work together. Fortunately, India’s P-8is have alternatives in some cases, like different SATCOM and the APS-143(v)3 OceanEye radar. That may help them ensure the technology works as advertised, but working together is a question of the P-8i’s current level of integration, which is unknown.

There are a couple of particular concerns for India. One is that the main fuel tank overheats in hot weather during grounding and low-level flight. This limits anti-submarine flight patterns, and has to be a “must fix” given India’s environment. The other concern involves faulty ESM systems for pinpointing radars and communications sources around the plane.

The P-8′s main radar is flagged for multiple problems by DOT&E, and India has to hope they will be fixed by the time its P-8is enter service. Wide-area submarine searches using the twin-sonobuoy multi-static active acoustic capability (MAC) approach will be a step up from the USA’s current IEER advanced sonobuoys, but their program delay still leaves adequate capability on board. India is likely to find that initial capabilities surpass their TU-142F and IL-38D fleets.

July 7/12: Testing. India’s first P-8i aircraft begin flight-testing in Seattle, and all test objectives are met in its initial flight. Boeing test pilots will continue the process at a US Navy test range west of Neah Bay, WA, and at a joint U.S./Canadian test range in the Strait of Georgia.

Boeing says that assembly is complete on the 2nd P-8I aircraft, and it will make its first flight in the coming weeks. They believe that they are on track to deliver the 1st P-8i to the Indian Navy in 2013. Boeing.

P-8i test flight
(click to view full)

Dec 5/11: 24? Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has told India Strategic magazine that the first 8 P-8is have been making satisfactory progress, that approval for the follow-on buy of 4 more is expected by the end of their fiscal year in March 2012, and that ultimately, India will want another 12 planes to bring their P-8i fleet to 24.

Dec 5/11: Bear’s back. Indian Tu-142ME maritime patrol aircraft, tail number 312, leaves Beriev Aircraft Company for its home base, following an overhaul and service life extension, and required flight testing. It’s 1 of 8 “Bear ASW” aircraft manufactured at Taganrog at the end of the 1980s for India, and Beriev still provides support and maintenance services through Rosoboronexport.

Beriev expects to continue the overhaul program until 2020, which implies that India’s TU-142s will serve for a while yet. JSC Beriev.

Sept 28/11: 1st flight. Initial flight for the P-8i, which takes off from Renton Field, WA and lands 2:31 later at Boeing Field in Seattle, WA. During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes, and took the P-8i to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. Boeing.

April 13/11: Industrial. IANS reports that Boeing has submitted a $300-million plan for investment in the Indian defense industry, covering 30% of the $1 billion (Rs.4,500 crore) that another 4 P-8i aircraft would cost. Boeing Military Aircraft president Christopher M. Chadwick, mentioned the draft offsets proposal, and told IANS that:

“The P8I order, which we won a few years ago, is on track and we are delivering the first of the eight P8Is in January 2013. The customer has informally talked about the potential for four more P8Is. That will take it (the order) to 12 (aircraft). That programme is on track, on cost and on schedule…”

Feb 11/11: SLAM? A Defense News report quotes Boeing’s P-8i program manager Leland Wright, who confirmed that Boeing has a license to export the AGM-84K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) to India, but said that P-8is will initially carry 4 of the less capable Harpoon anti-ship missiles instead. On the other hand, the Harpoon is the standard anti-ship missile of the US Navy, and India’s Block II missiles will be more advanced than USN versions.

Feb 3/11: 12? Indian Navy PR officer Commander PVS Satish tells India’s Economic Times that the Navy has decided to exercise its option for 4 more P-8is, “in a bid to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.” The deal is expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, but government approvals to negotiate don’t mean a contract just yet.

No confirming announcement yet at Aero India 2011. Boeing India VP Dr. Vivek Lall confirmed that the Indian government is “considering” the option, and said Boeing has submitted its draft industrial offset program to the Indian MoD. domain-B | India’s Economic Times | StrategyPage.

Jan 20/11: MAD. CAE in Montreal, QB, Canada announces a subcontract from Boeing to provide its AN/ASQ-508A Advanced Integrated Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) System for India’s 8 P-8is. The value is cloaked by its presence within a scattershot set of announcements worth a total of “more than $140 million.”

MAD systems work by identifying magnetic variations or anomalies caused by large metal objects, such as a submarine, in the Earth’s magnetic field. CAE’s MAD system is already in use by a number of countries and platforms: P-3 Orion derivatives flown by Brazil, Canada, and South Korea; Turkey’s CN-235MP and ATR-72 MPAs; Chile’s C-295 MPAs; and Japan’s locally-developed XP-1 maritime patrol aircraft.

Dec 23/10: IFF. Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has delivered an Indian-designed Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Interrogator to Boeing, for installation into India’s P-8i. Other Indian electronics eing provided for final integration include BEL’s Data Link II communications system, Avantel’s mobile satellite system, and the Electronic Corporation of India Ltd’s (ECIL) speech secrecy system. IANS via Thaindian | The Hindu.

Harpoon in flight
(click to view full)

Dec 21/10: Weapons. The US DSCA announces [PDF] India’s formal request for up to 21 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II Missiles, 5 ATM-84L Block II Training Missiles, Captive Air Training Missiles, containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, and related U.S. Government and contractor support. The estimated cost is up to $200 million, and this request is very explicit about their use:

“India intends to use the missiles on its Indian Navy P-8I Neptune maritime patrol aircraft which will provide enhanced capabilities in effective defense of critical sea lines of communication. India has already purchased HARPOON Block II missiles for integration on the Indian Air Force Jaguar aircraft and will have no difficulty absorbing these weapons into its armed forces.”

Note that the P-8i is known as the Poseidon in the USA – “Neptune” was the Roman name for the same Greek deity. The prime contractors will be The Boeing Company in St. Louis, MO, and Delex Systems Incorporated in Vienna, VA. Implementation of this proposed sale will require annual trips to India involving U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews, support, and oversight on for approximately 5 years. Details of a potential industrial offset agreement in connection with the proposed sale were not known when the DSCA made the announcement. See also Tehelka.

Harpoon missile request

Oct 4/10: Fleet plans, gaps. India’s navy wants to grow its P-8i fleet to 12 planes, by exercising a $1 billion option for 4 more. Indian sources are telling the media that the prices and offset agreements would be the same as the original $2.1 billion contract for 8 aircraft. The decision follows a recent visit by Indian defense minister Antony and Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma. The proposal will now be sent to India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval, and other steps also remain on the to do list. The Times of India:

“P-8Is are being customised to Indian naval requirements, with communication, electronic warfare and other systems being sourced from India. For instance, defence PSU Bharat Electronics is delivering Data Link-II, a communication system to enable rapid exchange of information among Indian warships, submarines aircraft and shore establishments, for the P-8Is to Boeing. There is, however, the question of India having not yet inked the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) being pushed by the US as ”a sensitive technology-enabler” for P-8I and other arms procurements.”

See: India Defence | Times of India | Zee News | China’s Xinhua.

July 20/10: Industrial. A new F/A-18E is delivered as the 1st US Navy Super Hornet featuring a gun bay door manufactured by India-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The gun bay door contract is the first military contract between Boeing and HAL, and stems from Boeing’s industrial participation commitment to India for the P-8i contract. Boeing.

Sept 17/10: Industrial. Dow Jones reports that Mahindra & Mahindra subsidiary Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. has signed a deal to buy aircraft parts-making machinery from Boeing’s plant in Melbourne, Australia, for expected delivery by the end of 2010. The company hopes it will improve the quality of aircraft parts it produces, and boost orders placed under offset clauses. In addition to the P-8i deal, for instance, there have also been offset clauses in government airline orders, creating a lucrative (if rentier) market.

The Mahindra Group has become active in the aerospace sector, and reportedly plans to invest about $55 illion (INR 2.5 billion) in its aerospace business over the next few years. In 2009, they bought 75.1% stakes Australia’s Gippsland Aeronautics and Aerostaff Australia for almost $38 million. Mahindra Systech President Hemant Luthra waqs coy about this deal’s value, saying only that it’s “…a slightly complex deal and I wouldn’t want to get into a specific value.”

Sept 8/10: Industrial. India’s Economic Times reports that Maini Global Aerospace (MGA) has bagged an outsourcing contract worth up to $10 million to make structural components for the extended range fuel cells of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime (MMR) aircraft. These components would be common to the P-8A and P-8i.

July 18/10: Radars. Raytheon announces a contract from Boeing to develop an international version of the AN/APY-10 surveillance radar for India’s P-8i. It’s a private arrangement, and Raytheon’s director of strategy and business development, Neil K Peterson, tells DNA India that details of the contract are still being worked out. He adds that “The radar we will be giving to the Indian Navy’s planes will have more features than those with The US Navy.”

This is the first sale of the APY-10 beyond the USA. The challenge is to provide excellent performance, without including some of the American radar’s protected features. Raytheon describes the APY-10 as a “long-range, multimission, maritime and overland surveillance radar.” So far, Raytheon is under contract with Boeing to provide 6 AN/APY-10 systems and spares for the US Navy’s P-8A program, and has delivered 4. The firm says that it remains on or ahead of the production schedule. Raytheon | DNA India.

March 2/10: Avionics. BAE Systems announces that it will provide India’s P-8i with mission computer systems, and says it will begin deliveries to Boeing in 2011. BAE provides the same computers for the P-8A.

Feb 3/10: Radars. Flight International reports that Boeing plans to put an additional Raytheon radar on the aft section of India’s P-8is, and is exploring an air-to-air mode for the APY-10. India wanted air-to-air capability and a 360 degree radar, and the AN/APY-10 provides only 240 degree coverage from the P-8′s nose section.

P-8i concept
(click to view full)

Oct 2/09: Industrial. domain-b reports that Boeing has signed P-8i related agreements with several Indian public sector defense firms, as part of the P-8i’s offset commitments. See also Feb 2/09 entry. Boeing India chief Vivek Lall:

“We have signed agreements with Indian companies such as Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Electronic Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)… They will be supplying indigenous equipment and spares such as transponders and other electronic equipment for the aircraft.”

Aug 8/09: TAA cleared. The Times of India reports that:

“The last hurdle for the execution of the biggest-ever defence deal with US, the $2.1 billion contract for eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, has now been cleared.”

That hurdle is the technical assistance agreement (TAA) for the P-8i contract, which follows on the heels of a contentious July 2009 agreement with the USA defining End-Use Monitoring Agreements. With these agreements in place, all aspects of the P-8i contract are now set. See also: Express Buzz | Sindh Today | UPI Asia.

March 12/09: P-8 DCS OKed. In a notice to the US Congress, the State Department has said that it will license the direct commercial sale of P-8i aircraft to India, having factored in “political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations.” India’s domain-b.

While a direct commercial sale faces far fewer hurdles than a Foreign Military Sale, there are still some legal hurdles and agreements that must be present before the aircraft are delivered to the customer.

Feb 11/09: EUA. Reports surface that standard American provisions around “End Use Monitoring”, and information sharing restrictions that accompany American defense exports, are beginning to become a problem for the P-8i sale.

Feb 2/09: Industrial. The Wall Street Journal’s LiveMint reports that Boeing will buy aerospace structures and aviation electronics products worth at least INR 29.41 billion (about $600 million) from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Dynamatic Technologies Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), Wipro Ltd, and simulator-maker CAE’s subsidiary Macmet Technologies Ltd.

Wipro, HCL, L&T and HAL declined to comment, but a Dynamatics executive confirmed that their firm had been chosen. A BEL executive said the firm had entered into an agreement with Boeing for communication equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems and contract manufacturing, but a contract was yet to be signed. Swati Rangachari, a spokeswoman for Boeing in India:

“Our team is working on the offset strategy and will be in touch with industry partners in a while… We will concentrate in the areas of avionics (aviation electronics) and aerostructures.”

Meanwhile, Flight International takes a deeper look at India’s nascent private aerospace industry, and its challenges, in “Can India’s aerospace manufacturers step up?”

Jan 5/09: Winner! The Indian government announces that it has signed a $2.1 billion deal with Boeing for 8 maritime patrol aircraft in “P-8i” configuration. The $2.1 billion figure is the commonly reported total at the moment; DID cautions readers that exact dollar figures for Indian contracts often take some time to clarify. The contract reportedly includes lifetime maintenance support, and an option for another 8 aircraft. Indian Navy spokesman Commander Nirad Sinha:

“Though we have signed a deal, final clearance is still required from a U.S. authority… The first plane delivery is four years from the final contract signing, so I think it should come in 2013.”

Boeing’s release commits to delivering the 8th aircraft by 2015. See: Boeing | India Defence | CNN Money.

Contract: 8 P-8i

Dec 29/08: P-8i? The P-8I deal for India appears to be moving closer. India Defence reports that “virtually all the steps” required for the contract to be signed, including tabling of it in the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval, are complete. Reports place the deal at Rs 8,500 crore (about $1.7 billion) for 8 jets, with first delivery coming within 4 years and all deliveries by 2015. India currently flies 8 Tu-142s. India Defence | StrategyPage.

Aug 10/08: P-8i? Sindh Today reports that India’s contract negotiating committee has completed its report on price negotiations with Boeing, after the P-8I won the technical bid and the trials of the product. Negotiations were reportedly stuck due to the end-user agreement, under which Boeing can conduct physical inspections of the aircraft as and when it wants to check if the product is being used for the purpose it has been acquired. This is linked to requirements under American ITAR laws, which regulate sales of military equipment whether they are conducted as FMS or direct commercial sales. India’s defence ministry reportedly separated that set of negotiations from the deal itself, knowing that a signed deal will be significantly harder to cancel, on either side.

The contract will reportedly be a direct commercial agreement between the Boeing company and the Indian Navy, rather than an announced Foreign Military Sale. The cost is reportedly around $2.2 billion, and that deal will now go to the defence acquisition committee (DAC) and then to the cabinet committee on security (CCS) for approval.

Aug 9/08: Future Force. During a lecture in New Delhi, Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta reportedly vowed that:

“By 2022, we plan to have 160-plus ship navy, including three aircraft carriers, 60 major combatants including submarines and close to 400 aircraft of different types. This will be a formidable three dimensional force with satellite surveillance and networking to provide force multiplication”

AP Pakistan | domain-B

April 20/08: USA? India’s NDTV reports that:

“India is set to sign a $2.2 billion deal, its biggest with the US, for eight long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, even as the Indian Navy chief opposed ”intrusiveness” in the use of military hardware the country purchases.

Negotiations for the purchase of the Boeing-P8I LRMR aircraft are in the final stages and are likely to be wrapped up during Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta’s visit to the US that began Sunday [DID: That did not happen]. The agreement for the purchase under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route will be signed between the two governments in New Delhi later this year, official sources said.”

A319, Indian Air
(click to view full)

Sept 7/07: India’s IANS wire service reports that the Indian Navy has completed evaluations of maritime patrol aircraft (MRA) on schedule, including a 4-member navy team led by a one-star officer who observed MRA derivative trials and simulations in July 2007 for the Airbus A319 in Spain and Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon MMA in the US. WebIndia story.

They also offer a list of bids submitted: Boeing, EADS Airbus, IAI/Elta, Lockheed Martin, and Rosoboronexport; plus this interesting tidbit:

“But official sources said since the navy was more interested in the longer range MRAs still under development, it was “seriously considering” acquiring two or three of the existing shorter range aircraft as an interim measure to plug a vital operational void in patrolling India’s vast coastline.

July 3/07: Defense News reports that Indian officials will be studying Boeing and Airbus aircraft in France, Germany, Spain and the United States as they prepare for a decision re: their maritime patrol aircraft competition. Defense News.

Don’t get too excited about outcomes, though; India’s procurement system has already solicited bids, and will be sending preliminary evaluations go to the Defence Ministry by September 2007, which will lead to a short list of bidders. A preliminary decision and price negotiations will begin “within two years.” Past experience has demonstrated that such price negotiations can take years themselves – or even sink deals entirely.

May 14/07: Ill 38s? India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) warned in a report that the first 2 of 5 upgraded IL-38SDs remain without essential avionics and weapon systems that are “seriously limiting their [the Il-38SD's] operational capabilities.” The problem? As usual… “unrealistic assumption” about the capability of timely indigenous development of certain avionics systems, and lead-time for import of necessary weapon systems. India Defence | Times of India

April 20/06: Lockheed’s deal reportedly includes a combination offer: 8 upgraded US Navy P-3C aircraft for $550-700 million; and 16 multi-mission MH-60R helicopters from Sikorsky costing $350-400 million.

April 13/06: Team Boeing announces its proposal to develop and deliver 8 P-8I Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft variants, touting its commonality and supportability benefits. The Boeing team includes CFM, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Smiths Aerospace, and their proposal includes the development of a unique Indian navy P-8 configuration, significant participation for Indian industry, test and certification activities, and 8 aircraft delivered over a 4-year period. See release – and note that Boeing just pledged to invest $1.5 billion in India’s aerospace industry, as part of a $6 billion deal with Air India.

Feb 14/06: Flight International reported that India’s navy has set a March 2007 deadline to receive bids for 16-24 more anti-submarine warfare helicopters; but the manufacturers that were handed the tender (AgustaWestland, Eurocopter, Kamov and Sikorsky) asked for an extension.

That program ended up taking far longer than the maritime patrol aircraft competition, but some MPA bidders looked to bundle the 2 together in a single solution. India eventually bought the P-8is as a “clean” acquisition.

Appendix A: The Competitors

According to Indian media reports, India’s 8-10 TU-142 Bear aircraft are being retired, after negotiations with Russia and Israel to retrofit them were called off. Invited bidders (and their relevant offerings) reportedly included:

• BAE (Nimrod)
  
• Boeing (P-8A MMA)
  
• IAI/Elta (Dassault Falcon 900 MPA)
  
• Lockheed Martin (P-3C Orion)
  
• Northrop-Grumman (Global Hawk, presumably)
  
• EADS (CN-235MP, AT3 Atlantique, ATR-72MP, modified A319)
  
• Rosoboronexport (IL-38 “May” and TU-142 “Bear”, both currently in service)

P-8A MMA
(click for labeled cutaway)

India has shown interest in the Boeing 737-derived P-8A MMA. This P-3 Orion’s successor will feature long range, very advanced radars that will also be useful for ground surveillance and may have air-to-air uses; advanced electro-optics for day/night viewing, and an array of weapons and sensors that will include Harpoon anti-ship and land-attack missiles, torpedoes, sonobuoys, etc. All in a package that’s broadly compatible with existing global 737 commercial fleets.

The P-8A is not expected to be available before 2013-2014. Nevertheless, The Times of India’s sources in the Indian Navy believed that the P-8A would match the combined operational profile presently being executed by its existing fleet of Ilyushin Il-38 Mays and TU-142 Bears. Given the limited remaining lifetime of even the refurbished IL-38SDs, a long-term, long-range solution was attractive.

From the beginning, India has treated its potential involvement in the Boeing P-8 MMA program as a test of Washington’s long-term military and strategic commitment. Significant distrust remains in the wake of the USA’s 1988 embargo of military exports to India and Pakistan following underground nuclear tests – an embargo that was only lifted fully in September of 2004. While its timeline may pose problems, just having the P-8A offered and cleared for export has been the one of the biggest benefits India received from this RFP.T the Pentagon has also pledged to make additional technical military capabilities available to New Delhi as they enter US service.

In the end, Team Boeing submitted its proposal to develop and deliver 8 P-8I Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft variants, touting its commonality and supportability benefits (q.v. April 13/07 timeline entry). The proposal included the development of a unique Indian navy P-8 configuration, significant participation for Indian industry, test and certification activities, and 8 aircraft delivered over a 4-year period. Thanks to its combination of compatibility, range, technology, and the stability and future development guaranteed by US Navy orders, Boeing’s P-8i won.

TU-142M “Bear”

The TU-142 Bear is the current incumbent. It was originally built as the TU-95 heavy bomber in the pre-jet era, before going on to a very long and successful career as the Eastern Bloc’s most important and longest ranging maritime surveillance and attack aircraft. A TU-142 can fly from Mumbai (Bombay) to Johannesburg, South Africa and back – without refueling. Bharat-Rakshak reports that 8-10 Bears remain in service with the Indian Naval Air Arm. Supplied to India in 1987-1988, all of them have been refurbished at least once.

Bharat-Rakshak notes that proposals had been floated to Russian and Israeli firms to significantly upgrade the TU-142 with the Leninets Sea Dragon common patrol suite, as well as other electronic enhancements useful for surveillance and even electronic warfare. Proposed Sea Dragon upgrades were rejected on cost and performance grounds, which led to discussions concerning an Israeli IAI Elta surveillance and communications package based around the AN/M-2202A radar used in Spain’s P-3C upgrades. These upgrades may even have been installed on at least one aircraft.

IL-38 May
(click to view full)

Russia’s smaller IL-38 had 2 big advantages. One was its recent refurbishment, and use by the navy. The other was the likely timeline for long-range replacement aircraft from Boeing or Airbus. Russia’s IL-38 May is about the same vintage as the P-3C Orion. Only 3 aircraft remain in Indian service from the original set of 5, after 2 of the aircraft were lost in an airshow collision. Unlike the TU-142s, however, the status of their upgrades is clear. India Defence reports that the first of 3 improved Il-38SD maritime anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft has been delivered to the Indian Navy following Russian upgrades that cost about $35 million per plane. Another 4 similarly upgraded IL-38SDs were scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy by early in 2007, bringing the fleet to 7 – but the upgrades themselves have had problems due to poor delivery from DRDO.

The IL-38 upgrade includes the Leninets Morskoy Zmei (Sea Dragon) digital common patrol suite, which is designed to detect and intercept surface vessels and submarines as well as detect mines and carry out surveillance. Like the Israeli M-2202A, the suite can also detect airborne targets, and it can be linked to the Russian Glonass GPS satellite navigation system. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation has supplied the new IL-38SD’s electronic intelligence system, electronic countermeasures station system, digital firing decoys and radio communication system. India also plans to mount the medium-range PJ-10 BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on this aircraft in the near future.

The age of refurbished airframes had to be a concern for a long-term buy like India’s LRMR competition, but IL-38SD may have become an “interim buy” option, if India’s preferred choice was delayed or unavailable for other reasons. Russia reportedly submitted proposals based on its TU-142 and IL-38, but they were not compelling enough. India’s existing fleets will retire, without new additions or refits.

Australian AP-3C
(click to view full)

Even though India’s MPA competition began with the cancellation of a P-3C Orion order, Lockheed Martin could not be counted out. Their bid reportedly included a combination offer: 8 upgraded US Navy P-3C aircraft for $550-700 million; and 16 multi-mission MH-60R helicopters from Sikorsky costing $350-400 million.

The P-3 platform is in service with 15 nations, and Lockheed-Martin still hoped to reach 16 by adding India. A February 2006 Press Trust of India report quoted Lockheed VP Richard Kirkland as saying their bid will offer “P-3C Orions which have completely been refurbished with new wing-spans and tails to serve almost a life time of 20 years… We are offering the Navy the choice of sensors and equipment to be placed onboard and the configuration it wants either for long-range maritime reconnaissance or anti-submarine mode.”

The previous P-3C contract had been canceled due to long delivery times, but Lockheed has been taking steps to shorten that process. It opened a plant to manufacture new wings for old P-3C aircraft, as a way of keeping fleets flying in their 15 customer nations. The refurbished aircraft are already being delivered to the US Navy and to international customers, along with new composite-wing spans and tails.

Kirkland believed that shorter delivery time would be an advantage for Lockheed this time around, and September 2007 reports added that the lead time for a long-range P-8A or Airbus 319 solution had led to a second look at the P-3C as an interim option. In the end, that option faded, and the P-3C/MH-60R offer did not win the competition.

Atlantique MPA
(click to view full)

EADS’ maritime patrol offerings include EADS-CASA’s CN-235MP Persuader in service with a number of countries, and the twin-turboprop AT3 Atlantique offered as part of the SECBAT consortium (EADS, Dassault Aviation of France, Alenia of Italy, and SABCA-SONACA of Belgium). While these are capable aircraft, their range and payload limitations may make them a dubious contender to replace the TU-142. Further up the range scale, maritime variants of their ATR 42 and ATR 72 short-haul passenger turboprops are produced for some customers, and EADS also refurbishes and maintains Spanish P-3C Orion aircraft.

In the end, however, EADS’ primary offering was “none of the above.” A July 2007 Defense News report suggested that rather than using any of these proven designs, EADS wa leveraging equipment from those efforts to propose a maritime patrol variant of the Airbus A319 passenger jet for this competition. The design was not expected to become operational before 2014, however, which means that EADS’ shorter-range options could have become relevant again if India’s Navy sought an interim buy as part of a package deal, or wanted to complement its forces with medium range aircraft from the same source.

Airbus and Boeing both made substantial investments in India, and both looked into partnering with Indian companies to jointly develop communications, data-link and identification friend-or-foe (IFF) equipment as part of their bids. An Indian order would launch the A319 MPA as a serious international contender, and help underwrite the cost of developing the aircraft at a time when projects like the A350 and A400M are squeezing Airbus’ cash and financing capacity. Unfortunately for Airbus, what it saw as opportunity, India saw as risk. The A319 was considered very seriously, but it did not win.

Falcon 900DX
(click to view full)

There were reports in April 2005 that India might be interested in a modified MPA based on Dassault’s high-end Falcon 900 business jet. Though the platform was absent from most subsequent coverage, the reports turned out to be true.

In September 2007, IANS reported that Israel Aerospace Industries and its subsidiary Elta Systems had submitted a proposal based on this jet, leveraging Elta systems extensive experience with naval radars and other surveillance systems, and IAI’s experience converting business jets into surveillance platforms. The tri-engine Falcon 900 may be a business jet, but it’s known as a VIP class offering with a lot of space and a long 4,100-4,500 nautical mile (7,600-8,330 km) unrefueled range.

The Falcon 900 is many things, but ‘cheap’ is not one of them. Bid prices could easily approach those of larger aircraft like the refurbished P-3Cs, which complicated IAI’s odds of being selected as an interim solution. On the other hand, Israel has deep relationships of its own in India, and IAI’s Heron and Searcher II UAVs could allow IAI to offer an integrated manned/ unmanned surveillance system that costs far less than higher-end options like the P-8A/BAMS, and offers proven aircraft/UAV integration that can be added to larger aircraft like the A319 or P-8A later on.

The biggest advantage of a solution based on a business jet would be operating costs. The biggest disadvantage is lack of space, which means fewer sensor and weapon options. In this case, the fact that India would be the team’s first customer also added substantial risk to the choice. India did not need an interim option, and saw Boeing’s P-8i as a more attractive option.

Listed, But Not Submitted

Some manufacturers were included in the tender, but did not submit a bid.

Nimrod MR2 via NATO
(click for MRA4 upgrades)

BAE Systems’ modernized Nimrod MRA4 program received consideration from the USA as a replacement option for its P-3C Orions, but pressures for standardization with the global civil air fleet and a desire for a “made in America” solution pushed them to adopt the 737-based P-8A instead. A British program was begun in 1996 to rebuild their existing Nimrod Mk2 fleet to the MRA4 standard with new wings, engines, internal systems, and mission systems. Unfortunately, that program faced a series of budget cuts, stalls, and conditions before getting a go-ahead for 12 aircraft in July 2006.

The entire program was questioned in Britain’s 2010 strategic review, and the program was ultimately scrapped with 1 aircraft fully ready and 4 of the remaining 8 being 90% ready. But knowing that would require clairvoyance, and refurbishing very old airframes, all of which are essentially custom built, was always a dubious option for India. In the end, the Nimrod was not even bid.

RQ-4: AWOL?
(click to view full)

Northrop-Grumman, which has held discussions with India around its E-2D Hawkeye 2000 carrier-capable AWACS aircraft, is also listed as one of the solicited companies by the India Defence report. The only asset they have which would fit the maritime surveillance category, however, is the RQ-4 Global Hawk High-Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) UAV. The Global Hawk is slated for a Maritime Surveillance role with the USA and Australia; indeed, a “Pacific pool” approach similar to the NATO E-3 AWACS model, and involving The USA, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, has been proposed.

It certainly has the range. A demonstration flight using a smaller RQ-4A Global Hawk took off from Adelaide, Australia and spent loiter time over Japan and Singapore before returning to Adelaide. While the Global Hawk lacks the payload capacity for sonobuoys, missiles, etc. possessed by all other contenders, the prospect of joining other friendly countries and sharing in the resulting intelligence data from all over the Pacific might still be very interesting. If pursued in combination with the P-8is, it would give India a combination similar to the US Navy’s P-8A/ RQ-4N BAMS. If pursued alone, it would sharply blunt India’s long-range offensive capabilities once the TU-142s were retired; but if this was seen as a bridge until the P-8A’s arrival, the intelligence benefits could make the proposal very attractive. Nevertheless, media reports did not list Northrop Grumman among the RFP respondents.

Additional Readings

• DID – India’s Mid-Tier Maritime Patrol Aircraft Competitions. Will complement the P-8is with shorter range planes, which will also carry fewer or no weapons.

• DID – P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More

• DID – An EUM Bellwether? India/US Arms Deals Faced Crunch Over Conditions. Agreement was reached on some matters in July 2009, but not on others.

• DID – Ships Ahoy! The Harpoon Missile Family

• Telephonics – Radar Systems. Including the AN/APS-143Cv3 used as the P-8i’s aft radar.

• DID – Kicking it Up a Notch: Poseidon’s Unmanned BAMS Companion. The RQ-4N Global Hawk variant.

• Asia Times (Sept 29/10) – Leaks in India’s submarine strategy. Mentions the P-8i, casts doubt on key technology transfers.

• DID (Sept 16/08) – India Floats Tender for New Maritime Helicopters

With the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and rededication of its funding into the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), and other programs, the AH-64 Apache will remain the USA’s primary attack helicopter for several more decades. Apaches also serve with a number of American allies, some of whom have already expressed interest in upgrading or expanding their fleets.

The AH-64E Guardian Block III (AB3) is the helicopter’s next big step forward. It incorporates 26 key new-technology insertions that cover flight performance, maintenance costs, sensors & electronics, and even the ability to control UAVs as part of manned-unmanned teaming (MUT). In July 2006, Boeing and U.S. Army officials signed the initial development contract for Block III upgrades to the current and future Apache fleet, via a virtual signing ceremony. By November 2011, the 1st production helicopter had been delivered. So… how many helicopters will be modified under the AH-64 Block III program, what do these modifications include, how is the program structured, and what has been happening since that 2006 award? The short answer is: a lot, including export interest and sales.

The AH-64 Apache Program: Sunset, Sunrise

(Re) Production: Apache’s History

No sunset yet.
(click to view full)

Work at the Mesa, AZ facility has been running steadily since the AH-64 program’s inception in the early 1980s, but a large share has involved refurbishment and upgrades. The Block III program continues that tradition.

Of the 937 AH-64As ever built, 821 were built for US Army. Over 500 of those were remanufactured to AH-64D status over a 10-year period, under 2 multi-year contracts that ran for 5 years each. Subsequent contracts drew in more AH-64As, and as of April 2012, only 8 AH-64As remained in the US Army.

• 284 helicopters were fielded as AH-64D Block Is. The first multi-year remanufacture contract was for 232 helicopters, and covered Lots I-V. The Lot VI helicopters from the 2nd multi-year contract were also built to the AH-64D Block I standard, which included the “Longbow” radar mast, compatible dual-mode Hellfire II missile capability, updated self-protection suites, and better cockpit displays. These initial AH-64D helicopters received equipment upgrades, and were also rebuilt to “zero flight hours” condition.

• Another 217 helicopters in Lots VII-X built AH-64As to the AH-64D Block II standard, which adds improved electronics and software to include the “Longbow” radar mast, compatible dual-mode Hellfire II missile capability, color cockpit displays including moving digital maps, and even more up to date self-protection suites. All were built during the 2nd multi-year contract period, which covered 269 Block I and Block II helicopters in total.

• The lateness of the JTRS radio program, and other issues, have delayed the future Block III model, and so January 2007 saw a contract to convert another 96 American AH-64As to the AH-64D “Extended Block II” standard, followed by additional contracts for Extended Block II+, where the plus simply indicates that “we’re still producing this model, past our expected schedule”. Boeing has received orders for 278 of these so far: 117 for the Army, 95 for the National Guard, and 66 War Replacement helicopters. In 2013, this production line is expected to switch to Block IIIs.

Observant readers will note that adding up all of the above cohorts makes 779 AH-64Ds produced (284 + 217 + 278) – but that counts the 66 war replacement helicopters twice, so the real total is 713. 713 – 690 = 23 unconverted AH-64Ds for whatever reason, be it unreplaced losses, budgets, or a safety margin to account for future losses and accidents. The Block III program was also supposed to manufacture 56 new-build helicopters as a separate program, but the FY 2014 budget throws the “AB3B” program into doubt. The new-build program may end at just 8-10 helicopters.

AB3 Program: Budgets & Timeline

Excel
download

The US Army aims to upgrade all of the current Block I and II Apaches, their 68 wartime loss replacements, and the additional AH-64 Extended Block II/+ helicopters, to Block III (AH-64E) status by 2020.

The original plan involved a second re-manufacture program at around $16 million per helicopter. That isn’t cheap, but it’s much cheaper than a new-build AH-64E’s price tag of $40 million or so. The Army still needed new-build production of 56 helicopters, however, in order to reach the program goal of 690. Finally, war replacement helicopters bought after FY 2012 will be new-build AH-64E Block IIIs, such as the 2 WRA helicopters in the FY 2013 budget.

According to Boeing, Low-Rate Initial production involves 2 lots, and totals 51 helicopters. LRIP Lot 1 was for 8 helicopters. LRIP Lot 2 was divided up into 3 tranches of 16, 19, and 8 helicopters. Full Rate Production is set to begin in 2014, on the basis of an order expected in FY 2013.

International AH-64E sales are expected to be a combination of re-manufacture and new-build orders, depending on whether the countries in question already field AH-64s, and how large they want their fleet to be. To date, Taiwan is buying 30 new-build Block IIIs, and South Korea intends to buy 36 new-build AH-64Es. Formal DSCA requests have been made for up to 183 more by India (22 new), Indonesia (8 new), Qatar (24 new), Saudi Arabia (70, most new) and the UAE (60 with 30 new).

The AH-64E Apache Guardian

(click for video)

The AH-64E Apache Guardian incorporates 26 new technologies designed to enhance the aircraft’s capabilities.

Flight performance: One set of advances are tied to helicopter’s flight performance. They include enhanced -701D engines with improved digital electronic control (DEC); upgraded drive systems including a split-torque face gear transmission, which increases power throughput by more than 20% (to 3,400 shp) without taking up more room; and a new composite rotor blade. The new composite rotor blades, which successfully completed flight testing in May 2004, work with the improved engines to increase the Apache’s cruise speed, climb rate and payload. Pilots in pre-training have noticed the additional power very quickly.

Overall, the front-line payoff is a higher hover ceiling altitude, at greater gross weight, on a 95F-degree day. That’s very useful in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. The new avionics will also help, by allowing the new Block III helicopters to fly in clouds and inclement weather that would have grounded earlier models.

Sensor performance: Block III upgrades are also designed to extend the Apache’s sensor range in all domains, and may be paired with new extended range weapons like the Joint Common Missile.

The mast-mounted radome that defines the current Apache AH-64D Longbow houses the AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar. Its millimeter-wave sensing improves performance under poor visibility conditions, and is less sensitive to ground clutter. The short wavelength also allows a very narrow beam-width, which is more resistant to countermeasures as it’s trying to guide the helicopter’s missiles to their targets. Block III will extend that radar’s range, or give commanders the option of trading it for an Unmanned Aerial Systems Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) that’s mounted in the same place on the mast.

UAV Synergy: The UTA will provide advanced “Level IV MUM” control of UAVs’ flight, payloads, and even laser designators from inside the helicopter, while streaming their sensor feeds back to the Apache’s displays. That level of control is causing a rewrite of existing tactics, techniques and procedures. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command capability manager Col. John Lynch offers one example of what can be done when UAV sensor and flight control is added to the Level 2 MUM capabilities on present platforms like the OH-58D:

“For example, with the Block III Apache you might have a UAS that’s overhead looking down into urban canyons; with Manned-Unmanned Teaming you have the ability to designate targets and you can see what is in the area where you are going to operate.”

That would have been highly relevant to operations in Iraq, before the USA’s destruction of Iranian intelligence networks in that country neutralized the shoulder-fired missile threat.

Electronics & displays: Behind those sensors, AH-64D Block IIIs will add open systems architecture electronics to create more standardization and “switchability,” embedded diagnostic sensors to improve maintenance, extended range sensing, wideband network communications for high-bandwidth networking, and high capacity data fusion computers to merge off- and on-board sensor imagery into a single shared picture of the battlefield.

Other electronic systems will be added over time, and will take advantage of the new electronics architecture. A new and improved IHADSS helmet display is one example. The prototype Ground Fire Acquisition System, (GFAS) is another, and will soon undergo a “user evaluation” in theater. GFAS cameras and infrared sensors detect the muzzle flash from ground fire, classify the firing weapon, and move the information through an Aircraft Gateway Processor into the cockpit. Pilots immediately see the enemy icon on their display screen, integrated with Blue Force Tracking maps. GFAS is expected to find its way into the entire US Apache fleet, but the Block III’s open architecture electronics and convenient rebuild status will make it an attractive destination for early installs.

Upgraded versions of the AN/ARC-231 Skyfire system will form the core of its radio capability. SATCOM (Satellite Communications) and Link-16 will supplement those capabilities, and improve the helicopter’s ability to receive or share data. New AMF JTRS radios will not become part of the AB3 communications system, though the Skyfire system will be supplemented at some point by undetermined technologies.

Changes in Production Lots 4-6 will include better embedded diagnostics, APG-78 Longbow radar improvements to add range and over-water capability; and Link-16 to share the same view of enemy and friendly units with participating fighters, ships, air defense systems, etc. A Cognitive Decision Aiding System (CDAS), is a cumbersome name, for a system designed “to help the pilot and the crew with some of those tasks that tend to get a little cumbersome at times.”

Contracts and Key Events

Unless otherwise noted, the Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL manages these contracts. Note that Longbow LLC is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

Refurb, Step 1
(click to view full)

May 8/13: Saudi. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $26.1 million firm-fixed-price, foreign military sales (FMS) contract modification covering AH-64E training and support in Saudi Arabia.

The Pentagon says that the cumulative total face value of this contract is now $216.2 million, which almost exactly matches the announced $216.5 million total of all contracts with this designation – many of which were unattributed (W58RGZ-12-C-0089, PO 0007). These contracts have now been assigned to Saudi Arabia, and it seems that Saudi AH-64E purchases began in May 2012.

April 24/13: Taiwan. A $19.6 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, as part of Taiwan’s order for AH-64E helicopters and related support. The Pentagon says that this order brings the total cumulative face value of this contract to $624.4 million, of the maximum $2.532 billion noted in the October 2008 DSCA request.

Oddly, the Pentagon’s notice cites FY 2009 procurement contract funds as the source; presumably, they’re referencing Taiwan’s original order funding. The US Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL acts as Taiwan’s FMS agent (W58RGZ-09-C-0147, PO 0022).

April 12/13: Rotors. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $36.6 firm-fixed-price contract modification, buying composite main rotor blades and associated support equipment for the Block III configuration. The performance enhancing composite blades are part of the AH-64E’s efficiency changes. The award uses FY 2012 procurement contract funds (W58RGZ-10-G-0006, 0013).

March 15/13: Support. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $7.2 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for AH-64E contractor logistics support. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Nov 30/14. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-09-C-0161).

March 5/13: SDD. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $41.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification that adds to the AH-64 Apache Block III’s SDD contract.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/14. The original bid was solicited through the Internet, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-05-C-0001).

Jan 17/13: DOT&E testing. The Pentagon releases the FY 2012 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The AH-64E is included, and the news is almost all good. It’s operationally effective, and better than its predecessors. It’s also operationally suitable, surpassing reliability thresholds with statistical confidence and meeting all current maintainability requirements. Survivability is at least as good as the AH-64D, and increased power margins also do their bit to improve flight safety.

Now, the lone piece of bad news: The AH-64E is vulnerable to computer network attack. An Army threat computer network operations team conducted limited penetration testing against the Blue Force Tracker, the Aviation Mission Planning System, and aircraft maintenance ports. Threat team activities were limited to computer network scanning (passive and active) while the AB3 aircraft were on the ground, but they were successful in gaining access to AB3 systems.

Jan 9/13: Lot 4-6 Enhancements. US Army Apache program manager Col. Jeff Hager talks to Flight International about the AH-64E.

Boeing has delivered 28 of 51 low-rate initial production AH-64Es so far, and will start full-rate production in 2013. Changes in Production Lots 4-6 will include better embedded diagnostics, APG-78 Longbow radar improvements to add range and over-water capability; and Link-16 to share the same view of enemy and friendly units with participating fighters, ships, air defense systems, etc. A Cognitive Decision Aiding System (CDAS), is a cumbersome name, for a system designed “to help the pilot and the crew with some of those tasks that tend to get a little cumbersome at times.” Flight International.

Jan 3/13: Taiwan? Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $71 million firm-fixed-price contract modification “to procure Apache AH-64D helicopters in support of Foreign Military Sales.” We asked for further details to clarify which customer, but neither Boeing nor the US military will provide those any longer, except through Freedom of Information Act requests. The contract number does match Taiwan’s 30-helicopter order, and the USA seems to be using a different contract number for them, but that conclusion isn’t 100% certain.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Oct 31/17. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-09-C-0147).

Jan 3/13: Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $39.6 million firm-fixed-price contract modification. Boeing tells us that this is additional advance procurement funding for the US Army.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-12-C-0055).

Jan 3/13: Saudi? Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives an $18.4 million firm-fixed-price contract modification “to procure Apache Block III Aircraft in support of Foreign Military Sales.” We asked for further details to clarify which customer, but neither Boeing nor the US military will provide those any longer, except through Freedom of Information Act requests. AH-64 Foreign Military Sales seem to have different contracts for each country, however, and a subsequent announcement that pegs Saudi Arabia as the customer also offers totals that match the totals for this contract number.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of April 30/13. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-12-C-0089).

Nov 1/12: Taiwan? Boeing receives a $66.1 million firm-fixed-price contract modification “to procure Apache Block III aircraft and related support.” We asked about this contract, which turns out to be a Foreign Military Sale order, even though it wasn’t announced as such. Neither Boeing nor the US military will provide those any longer, except through Freedom of Information Act requests. The contract number does match Taiwan’s 30-helicopter order, and the USA seems to be using a different contract number for them, but that conclusion isn’t 100% certain.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Oct 31/17. One bid was solicited, with one bid received (W58RGZ-09-C-0147).

Oct 2/12: ? Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $69.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for “Apache Block III aircraft.” Boeing could not provide additional details by the time of publication.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Feb 28/13. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-12-C-0055).

KAI’s new fuselage
(click to view full)

Sept 21/12: Indonesia. The US DSCA announces [PDF] Indonesia’s official request for AH-64D Block III Apache helicopters, ancillary equipment, and weapons. The DSCA says that: “Indonesia will use these APACHE helicopters to defend its borders, conduct counterterrorism and counter-piracy operations, and control the free flow of shipping through the Strait of Malacca.”

The proposed cost is very, very high – up to $1.42 billion for 8 new-build helicopters plus initial support, or about $177.5 million for each operational, fully-equipped helicopter. By comparison, India’s similar DSCA request involved up to $1.4 billion for 22 machines and equipment. The request is somewhat controversial in Indonesia, where the chairman of the House of Representatives Commission overseeing defense and foreign affairs has said that heavy-lift CH-47 Chinook helicopters would be far more helpful. He isn’t against the Apaches per se, just believes that Chinooks would make a bigger difference to one of the military’s main roles, which is distributing relief supplies after natural disasters. He’s right, but that isn’t what they asked for; instead, it’s:

• 8 AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III attack helicopters
  
• 19 T-700-GE-701D Engines (16 installed and 3 spares)
  
• 9 “Arrowhead” MTADS/PNVS night vision and targeting turrets
  
• 24 Integrated Helmet and Display Sight Systems (IHDSS-21), which allow pilots to target missiles by moving their gaze.
  
• 4 AN/APG-78 Longbow Fire Control Radars (FCR) with Radar Electronics Units
  
• 4 AN/APR-48A Radar Frequency Interferometers
  
• 10 AAR-57v3/5 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS), with a 5th Sensor and the Improved Countermeasure Dispenser
  
• 10 AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting Sets
  
• 10 AN/APR-39Av4 Radar Signal Detecting Sets
  
• Identification Friend or Foe transponders
  
• 32 M299A1 Hellfire Missile Launchers
  
• 140 Hellfire AGM-114R3 “universal warhead” missiles
  
• M230 30mm guns and ammunition
  
• Plus helicopter transportation to Indonesia, communication equipment, tools and test equipment, training devices, simulators, generators, associated wheeled vehicles, spare and repair parts, support equipment, personnel training and training equipment, and US government and contractor support services.

Many of the items above are produced by sub-contractors like ATK, BAE, Northrop Grumman, et. al., but the prime contractors will be:

• Boeing in Mesa, AZ (Helicopter)
  
• Lockheed Martin Corporation in Orlando, FL (Hellfire missiles & launchers)
  
• General Electric Company in Cincinnati, OH (Engines)
  
• Lockheed Martin Millimeter Technology in Owego, NY (Longbow radars)
  
• Longbow Limited Liability Corporation in Orlando, Florida (Longbow radars)

Implementation of this proposed sale may require 5 U.S. contractor representatives and 3 U.S. Government representatives in country, full-time, for equipment checkout, fielding, and technical support.

Indonesia request: 8

Sept 6/12: Support. Longbow LLC in Orlando, FL receives a $39 million firm-fixed-price contract to support the helicopter’s Radar Electronic Unit and Unmanned Aerial System Tactical Common Data Link Assembly.

Work will be performed in Orlando, FL until Aug 31/13. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by US Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-12-C-0049).

Aug 28/12: Support. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $17.7 million firm-fixed-price contract “for the procurement of Apache Block III aircraft and related support.”

Work will be performed in Mesa, with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/15. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-12-C-0113).

Aug 21/12: India. The Times of India quotes a Ministry of defence official, who says that:

“It’s just a matter of time before the contract is inked for the Apaches after final commercial negotiations. Most of the hurdles have been cleared.”

It’s hard to tell whether that means anything. In India, “just a matter of time” can easily be measured in years. Meanwhile, Boeing and Russia will be competing for another Indian contract, pitting Boeing’s CH-47F heavy-lift helicopter against the even larger Mi-26.

July 13/12: Support. An $84.6 million firm-fixed-price contract covers production and support services for the Apache Block III aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ with an estimated completion date of Jan 31/13. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-12-C-0055).

July 12/12: Sub-contractors. Boeing announces that they’ve received the first 10 new Block III fuselages from long-time supplier Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). This milestone paves the way for delivery of the 1st new-build Apache Block III in 2013.

Boeing is a huge customer for KAI, who supplies parts for commercial jets, F-15s, A-10 wings, etc. KAI have been delivering AH-64 fuselages for over a decade from their facility in Sacheon, South Korea, and the Republic of Korea has expressed some interest in buying new AH-64D Block III helicopters of their own (vid. Sept 24/08 entry).

May 29/12: Taiwan. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $97.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification “of an existing contract to procure Block III Apache AH-64D attack helicopters in support of Foreign Military Sales.” Which means Taiwan. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, with an estimated completion date of Dec 30/17. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-09-C-0147).

The contract number does match Taiwan’s 30-helicopter order, and the USA seems to be using a different contract number for them, but that conclusion isn’t 100% certain. If it is Taiwan, it brings total ROC Apache Block III contracts to $624.5 million so far, of the maximum $2.532 billion noted in the October 2008 DSCA request. If air-launched Stinger missiles are included, on the grounds that they were part of Taiwan’s request, the total so far rises to $683.8 million.

March 16/12: RDT&E. Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $187 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, to fund Apache Block III development, integration and testing. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, with an estimated completion date of July 31/14. One bid was solicited, with one bid received (W58RGZ-05-C-0001).

Jan 17/12: DOT&E testing. The Pentagon releases the FY 2011 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). Most performance levels looked good as of Sept 30/11, after 1,587 developmental flight test hours, and the new helicopter got good marks for supportability, but formal IOT&E is scheduled for April 2012.

The helicopter meets all thresholds, except for 99% performance in Hover Out of Ground Effect. The new radar met or exceeded 37/44 specification thresholds, and even for the other 7, performance was at or above the existing AH-64D radar. Remaining improvement are mostly focused on 3 key sensors: the IHADSS helmet-mounted display, the MTADS “Arrowhead” sensor turret, and UAV interoperability:

“…the program redesigned the IHADSS helmet to improve its fit and functionality, and has made software corrections to make it easier to adjust radio squelch, provide feedback to the pilot while changing radio frequencies, simplify UAS linkup procedures, and achieve compliance with interoperability standard… M-TADS video vibrates excessively during certain flight regimes. Subsequent testing revealed that the cause of the vibration was the natural frequency of the TADS Electronics Display and Control overlays with the main rotor frequency. The Army is exploring options to correct the problem.”

January 2012: India. India Strategic quotes Raytheon’s Business Development Manager for missile systems Brad Barnard, who says that Raytheon’s FIM-92F Block 1 Stinger ATAS helicopter-mounter anti-aircraft missiles could also be made available for other Indian helicopters, beyond the requested AH-64D Block III buy (vid. Oct 25/11, Dec 27/10).

Missile candidates would include India’s HAL Dhruv helicopters, and HAL’s LCH scout and light attack helicopter.

UTA: UAV mast-er
(click to view full)

Dec 30/11: Mast sensors for Taiwan & US. Longbow Limited Liability Corp. in Orlando, FL receives an announced $64.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, but Longbow LLC pegs its actual value at $181 million, with options to extend performance past 2015, to 2017.

It’s said to include 15 Longbow Block III mast-mounted Fire Control Radar assemblies for Taiwan’s AH-64Ds, marking the Block III version’s 1st export order.

For the US Army, the order includes 14 Block III Radar Electronics Units, which are smaller than their predecessors, and offer lower weight, maintenance and power requirements. The Army is also buying 14 Unmanned Aerial System Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) systems and spares, which provide a 2-way, high-bandwidth data link that lets the helicopter crew control nearby UAV flight paths, sensors and lasers at long ranges, while receiving high-quality imagery from the UAVs on the helicopters’ own displays.

Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/15. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by US Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract, including its work as Taiwan’s FMS agent (W58RGZ-10-C-0005). Lockheed Martin | Northrop Grumman.

Dec 30/11: Training. The US Army discusses AH-64D Block III improvements, as the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division prepares to be the 1st unit in the Army to field a force with only AH-64D Block III machines.

The differences are extensive enough that existing 1-1 pilots are getting a 3-week course at Boeing’s Mesa, AZ facility, including 28 hours of academics, 24 hours in the new simulator, and 8.5 hours flying in the Block III helicopter. Maintenance test pilots get an additional 22 hours of academics and 3 additional hours in the aircraft.

Dec 7/11: Taiwan. Boeing in Mesa, AZ received a $141.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for “services in support of 30 Apache AH-64D attack helicopters for Taiwan.”

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, with an estimated completion date of Dec 30/17. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL, who is acting as Taiwan’s agent (W58RGZ-09-C-0147).

Dec 7/11: Boeing in Mesa, AZ receives a $7.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for “logistics support services for the AH-64D Apache low rate initial production.” DID is checking, but believes that only Block III is back at the LRIP phase.

Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, with an estimated completion date of Feb 28/14. One bid was solicited, with one bid received (W58RGZ-09-C-0161).

Oct 25/11: Alone in India. Reports surface that Russia’s Mi-28N Night Hunter has lost the competition for India’s proposed buy of 22 attack helicopters (vid. Dec 27/10 entry). Unnamed sources say that it fell short in 20 technical areas, and that the AH-64D displayed better maneuverability, multi-role capability, and capacity to accept upgrades.

That will be bad news for MBDA & Diehl, as well; their new PARS 3/TRIGAT LR anti-tank missile was reportedly going to be the Mi-28N’s counterpart to Lockheed Martin’s AGM-114 Hellfire missile family on the Apache. The question now is whether the Indian military’s recommendation will be accepted and approved, then turned into a contract. That often takes a long time in India. Economic Times of India | Russia’s Pravda | RIA Novosti | Aviation Week | Monsters & Critics | The Hindu re: PARS 3.

AH-64Ds, Afghanistan
(click to view full)

Aug 30/11: LRIP-1. A $16 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to buy support for AH-64D Apache Block III Low Rate Initial Production, Lot 1A and 1B. Work will be performed in Mesa, AZ, with an estimated completion date of Feb 28/14. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received (W58RGZ-09-C-0161).

June 10/11: Taiwan deal? Reports surface that Taiwan has signed a contract for 30 AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III attack helicopters under its Sky Eagle program, making it the type’s 1st export customer. US Army AH-64 project manager Col. Shane Openshaw is quoted as the source for the news, and says that Taiwan’s first new-build helicopter will enter the production line in October 2011 as the very 1st new-build Block III, with deliveries expected in 2012-2013. The signing is consistent with April 2011 reports, but no branch of the US government, or Boeing, has made any public announcement yet; and there have been no media reports in Taiwan. On the other hand, subsequent entries strongly suggest a contract.

Per earlier contracts & requests, Taiwanese AH-64s will include Hellfire Longbow fire-and-forget light strike missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles among its weapon options. In exercises, helicopters have proven to be very challenging opponents for fixed-wing aircraft, and the growing aerial imbalance over the China Strait makes some form of aerial engagement capability a necessity for any Taiwanese attack helicopter. The Dec 3/08 DSCA entry set a maximum estimated price of $2.532 billion for 30 helicopters, all associated equipment and initial support, and requested stocks of Stinger and Hellfire Longbow missiles.

Boeing’ VP attack helicopter programs, David Koopersmith, told Shephard’s Rotorhub that the first 3 remanufactured Block IIIs were on the line, and they still expect to deliver the 1st production remanufactured Block III helicopter to the US Army in October 2011. Once the remaining AH-64D Block II line converts over, Koopersmith believes that Boeing could deliver 7-8 Block III helicopters per month on the 2 lines at Mesa, AZ. The Rotorhub report expects the US Army to eventually request 786 AH-64D Block IIIs, 96 above the current program plan of 690. Flight International | Rotorhub | Asian Skies blog.

April 12/11: Taiwan. Defense News reports that representatives from the U.S. government and Boeing will arrive in Taipei in May 2011, to wrap up the AH-64 Block III Foreign Military Sale deal. Author Wendell Minnick.

March 16/11: UTA. Longbow, LLC in Orlando, FL received a $10 million firm-fixed-price contract for radar electronics units and unmanned aerial system tactical common data link assembly units, in support of the Apache Block III helicopter fire control radar. This equipment set helps the helicopter work with unmanned drones. The Block III’s desired “Level IV” control means the Apache pilots see what the UAV sees, and can control a UAV to do anything except launch itself, or land itself. Boeing has equipped the Block IIIs with basic systems for UAV control in anticipation of the day when the battlefield procedures and software, are deemed ready.

Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2015. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0005).

Block-III testing
(click to view full)

Jan 13/10: Sub-contractors. Boeing announces that Science Engineering Services Inc. (SES) is joining its Block II industry team. SES will receive U.S. Army Apache helicopters at the SES West Aviation and Integration Facility near Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. They will be disassembled, inspected and repaired as necessary, then components and airframes will be shipped to Boeing in Mesa, AZ, for integration into the AH-64D Apache Block III.

The program will create approximately 70 new positions for aviation and avionics mechanics, structural installers, and aviation quality inspectors within SES.

Nov 23/09: Testing Boeing completes the 1st flight of its AH-64D Apache Block III program structures test aircraft in Mesa, AZ. The tests demonstrate flight characteristics and handling maneuvers, and test technologies including the composite main rotor blade, composite horizontal stabilator, and -701D engines with enhanced digital electronic control. The aircraft also features a split-torque face gear transmission that increases power throughput by more than 20%, without taking up more room.

The Army and Boeing continue to work toward an anticipated US Department of Defense Milestone C decision in April 2010, which would begin production. Boeing release.

June 2008: Testing. Boeing completes the first flight of the AH-64D Apache Block III program’s avionics test helicopter ahead of schedule, at the Yuma Proving Ground, AZ. Source.

Dec 3/08: Sub-contractors. Presagis, a Canadian firm which specializes in providing commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) modeling, simulation and embedded display graphics software, announced that Boeing has selected their Lyra image generator to support the development of the next-generation Apache helicopter simulator. Boeing will use Lyra in its new Block III Apache Engineering Development Simulator (EDS), the virtual simulation of the Apache weapon system. Ottawa Citizen – Defence Watch.

Sept 14/08: South Korea. South Korea’s Yonhap News reports that the USA has offered to sell 36 used Apache attack helicopters to South Korea at less than 60% of the out-of-factory price, with upgrades to Block III status plus include a new frame and engines, resetting their life span to 10,000 flight hours.

The deal, if signed, is expected to be worth around $811 million. Its size is causing hesitation in Korea, which needs to replace its aging fleet of 500MD Defender helicopters and has backed off of its previous plans for an indigenous attack helicopter program. Politics is an uncertain game, and dates are rarely dependable. A government decision was expected by the end of 2008, but remained unmade as 2012 began. Seoul Times article | DID coverage: “US Army Apaches for Auction?”

April 30/08: Award. A team comprised of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], the U.S. Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, AMRDEC Aviation Systems Integration Facility, Harris Corp. and Rockwell Collins receive the American Helicopter Society’s (AHS) 2008 Howard Hughes Award during the AHS International Annual Forum in Montreal, Canada. The AH-64D Block III’s progress figures prominently in that award.

One hopes that the award’s annual winners will have better luck with aircraft development than Howard Hughes. Boeing release.

Jan 17/08: Longbow LLC in Orlando FL received a $15.4 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Apache Block III radar electronics unit and an unmanned aerial vehicle tactical common data link assembly. The latter item would allow the helicopter’s pilots to share data with UAVs, and could allow full control depending on the technologies used.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD and Orlando, FL and is expected to be complete by June 30/09. One bid was solicited on Jan 20/06, and 1 bid was received (W58RGZ-05-C-0239).

AH-64D Longbow
(click to view full)

July 14/06: Development. Boeing and U.S. Army officials sign a $619.3 million development contract for Block III upgrades to the current and future Apache fleet, via a virtual signing ceremony in Washington, DC; Huntsville, AL; and Mesa, AZ.

Those upgrades are described earlier in the article.Boeing release

Block III SDD contract

Jan 25/06: Longbow LLC in Orlando, FL received a $76 million increment as part of a $100 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Apache Block III Radar Electronics Units.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (50%), and Orlando, FL (50%), and is expected to be complete by Dec 30/08. This was a sole source contract initiated on Jan 11/06 (W58RGZ-05-C-0239).

July 13/05: Longbow LLC in Orlando, FL receives a $15 million increment as part of a $17.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Apache Fire Control Radar Electronics Unit.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (50%), and Orlando, FL (50%), and is expected to be complete by Dec 15/05. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 22/04 (W58RGZ-05-C-0239).

Additional Readings

• DID – Boeing Remanufactures AH-64A Apaches to AH-64D Block II. Most, if not all, will eventually become Block IIIs.

• DID – American AH-64D Apache: War Replacement Contracts. These will be new-build Block IIs.

• Aviation Week DTI (Oct 26/12) – US Army Prepares for Full-Rate AH-64E Production

• Aviation Week (June 13/07) – Army and Navy Want to Control UAVs From Choppers

• Inside Defense: Inside the Army (Oct 30/06) – Army Speeds Fielding Of Apache Block III Technologies To Current Fleet. “The Army is working to speed the development of six key technologies slated to be fielded under the Apache Longbow Block III modernization program in an effort to provide the enhanced capabilities to today’s warfighters, according to Col. Derek Paquette, Apache project manager.”

• edefense Online (Oct 25/05) – “New Tactics for Apache“

South Korea’s T-50 Golden Eagle family offers the global marketplace a set of high-end supersonic trainer and lightweight fighter aircraft. They’re hitting the international market at a good time: just as many of the world’s jet training fleets are reaching ages of 30 years or more, and high-end fighters are pricing themselves out of reach for many countries.

The ROK’s defense industry is advancing on all fronts these days. Its shipbuilding industry, one of the world’s busiest, is beginning to turn out its own LHDs, and even high-end KDX-III AEGIS destroyers. On the armored vehicle front, Korea’s XK2 tank and K9/K10 self propelled howitzer are beginning to win export orders, and its XK-21/KNIFV amphibious infantry fighting vehicle may not be too far behind. All fill key market niches, promising performance at a comparatively inexpensive price. Now its aerospace industry is in flight abroad with the KT-1 turboprop basic trainer, complemented by the T-50 jet trainer, TA-50 LIFT advanced trainer & attack variant, and FA-50 lightweight fighter.

The TA-50 and FA-50 are especially attractive as lightweight export fighters, and the ROKAF’s own F-5E/F Tiger II and F-4 Phantom fighters are more than due for replacement. The key question for the platform is whether it can find corresponding export sales.

T/F/A-50: The Planes

T-50, 3-view
(click to view full)

The T-50 was developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd., with cooperation and global marketing support from Lockheed Martin. Both firms were aware that many training aircraft fleets are aging, even as higher-performance fighters demand trainer aircraft that can keep up. The Korean government needed a fleet of trainers, and saw an opportunity to give their aerospace sector a strong boost in the process. Total investment in the T-50′s RDT&E program amounted to more than $2 billion: 70% from the Korean government, 17% from KAI, and 13% from Lockheed Martin.

With a length of 43 feet and a wingspan of 30 feet, the 2-seat T-50 is about 4 feet shorter than the F-16; overall, it’s only about 80% of the F-16′s size. The relative size of the control surfaces and tails are larger, however, to improve handling characteristics at lower speeds and make the aircraft easier to land. Larger landing gear is also fitted, to absorb harder landings, which is to be expected from student pilots. Its form’s resemblances to Lockheed Martin’s F-16 are suggestive, and include the blended mid-set wing, complete with leading-edge root extensions and rear ‘shelf’ fairings ending in F-16-style split airbrakes. The air intake layout on the sides is somewhat similar to the F/A-18 Hornet or Northrop’s excellent but ill-fated F-20A Tigershark, and the aircraft is powered by the same engine: GE’s popular, reliable and fuel-efficient F404, with slight improvements over the F404-GE-402 to enhance single-engine redundancy and reliability.

The T-50 trainer carries a basic navigation / attack system, which gives it some multi-role capability. The aircraft can carry Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips, as well as fuel, rockets, or qualified bombs on its 5 underwing and center pylons. The center pylon and 2 inner underwing pylons are “wet,” and can accommodate 150 gallon fuel drop tanks.

The T-50 family’s empty weight is 14,000 pounds, and maximum takeoff gross weight is 27,700 pounds. The plane’s F404-GE-102 engine produces 17,700 pounds of thrust at afterburner. Maximum rate of climb is 39,000 feet per minute; and the maximum speed is Mach 1.5. Service ceiling is 48,500 feet, the design load factor is 8gs, and the trainer airframe is designed for up to 10,000-hour service life (8,344 hours for the A-50).

T-50 cockpit
(click to view full)

Still, the plane is designed to be a trainer, with better rear visibility than a 2-seat F-16. An “active stick” ensures that stick movements in the front or rear are transmitted to the stick in the other seat, to improve monitoring and learning. Embedded training features, in-flight recording and post-mission debriefing capability are all built in. The standard tools of a modern fighter pilot’s trade are likewise present: “glass cockpit” of digital screens, HUD (Head Up Displays), HOTAS (Hands On Stick And Throttle) control systems to keep everything at the pilot’s fingertips, triple-redundant electrical system, fly-by-wire, advanced radio and navigation systems including INS/GPS, and a Martin-Baker zero-zero ejection seat. The seat back angle is 17 degrees – similar to the seat angles of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F/A-22.

Per the standards for modern trainers, the aircraft is part of a larger, integrated training system that includes simulators, computer-based training, cockpit and maintenance trainers, and a training management system.

Maintenance has also received careful thought. The new trainer’s airframe will require no mandatory depot maintenance, and the aircraft boasts a “single-tier design” with some 250 access panels, allowing technicians to get at any major system. Extensive self-diagnostics are expected to help keep maintenance costs down.

All in all, the T-50 may remind some people of the F-16 that was originally designed by the 1970s “Fighter Mafia,” who were busy breaking every big-jet, multi-role, high-priced rule the USAF had cultivated for over a decade. The T-50′s 0.65:1 thrust/weight ratio ensures that it’s no F-16. Even so, more than 25 years after the F-16 entered service, the T-50 family retains one more comparison point: a similar price point in absolute dollars. Its $20-30 million cost places it firmly on the high end of the modern trainer market, but its supersonic performance and fighter versatility could still make the T-50 family very popular indeed.

Key market competitors include the subsonic BAE Hawk, Aermacchi’s now-supersonic M346, and its Russian twin the Yak-130.

T-50 Variants

Black Eagles
(click to view full)

At present, 3 variants of the T-50 are planned, beyond the basic T-50 trainer aircraft.

One is the T-50B aerobatic variant, which has replaced ancient A-37 Dragonflys in South Korea’s “Black Eagles” national aerobatic team. This makes South Korea 1 of just 4 countries whose aerobatic teams fly locally designed and manufactured supersonic aircraft. The Black Eagles perform in this category alongside the USA’s Thunderbirds (F-16) and Blue Angels (F/A-18), Russia’s Swifts (MiG-29) and Knights (SU-27), and China’s 1st Aerobatic Team (J-10s).

The 2nd variant is the TA-50 lead-in fighter trainer, which is proving to be a popular export option. It has full avionics including stores management, and the IAI/ LIG Nex1 version of the EL/M-2032 multi-mode radar. Weapons include a 3-barreled M61 20mm cannon, and it can carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-air missiles, AGM-65 Maverick short-range strike missiles, rocket pods, Mk80 family bombs, and SUU-20 practice bomb carriers. Some reports add Lockheed Martin’s AN/APG-67v4 multi-mode radar as an alternative option, derived from the radar that equipped Northrop’s F-20 Tigershark.

Other reports have mentioned that the TA-50 has provisions for radar warning receivers and specialty pods, if customers wish to add them. With those additions, it would become a complete low-end light fighter that’s able to add laser-guided bombs and rockets to its arsenal.

A slightly more expensive variant called the F/A-50 will be fully fitted for the lightweight fighter and light attack roles, with a secondary role as a lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) if necessary.

KAI’s FA-50
(click to view full)

There is a small catch. The FA-50 is also a joint KAI/ Lockheed Martin project, and the associated co-operation agreements reportedly included a number of restrictive terms. One is that Lockheed Martin won’t transfer aircraft source code to other nations, leaving them as the sole integrator for key capabilities. A 2nd provision is that the T-50′s capabilities cannot exceed Korea’s F-16s. A 3rd provision reportedly banned South Korea from integrating T-50 variants with non-U.S. technology that the United States doesn’t have.

Provisions 2 and 3 had a big influence on the plane’s radar options. Instead of SELEX Galileo UK’s Vixen 500E AESA, the first FA-50s will use IAI’s popular EL/M-2032 multi-mode radar, with a radar transmitted back-end from SamsungThales. It will be coupled to additional datalinks like Link-16, a weapons management system, radar warning receivers, and a MIL-STD-1760 databus. FA-50s will also be able to carry additional electronic countermeasures equipment, and specialty pods like LITENING or Sniper ATP for targeting, surveillance, etc.

Weapons will include the same lightweight 3-barreled M61 20mm gun, and weapon set as the TA-50. That array is expected to grow, however, and the enhanced radar, databus, etc. add the ability to carry GPS-guided weapons like JDAM bombs, WCMD/SFW cluster bombs, JSOW glide bombs, etc. They’re also likely to enable the eventual addition of AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided air-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, and other advanced weapons.

Any FA-50 exports to Arab countries would probably have to swap out some equipment, as the Israeli-designed radar and LITENING pod wouldn’t be an option. One possibility would involve Lockheed Martin’s AN/APG-67v4 radar, and Sniper-SE surveillance and targeting pod.

The other possibility would be to look for more advanced American radars, and as advanced AESA radars become more mainstream in the global military market, the lack of an AESA option could begin to cost the FA-50 orders. An imminent program to upgrade the ROKAF’s KF-16s with AESA radars, and a US Air National Guard program to do the same thing with part of its own fleet, could offer a way out of the impasse by nullifying some of the key MoU restrictions noted above.

T/F/A-50: The Program

T-50 cutaway, KAI

Click here for full graphic, from KAI [1500 x 696, 454k].

Home Customer: 142 ROKAF: 50 T-50, 10 T-50B, 22 TA-50, 60 FA-50.
Export Customers: Indonesia (16 T-50i).
Key Prospects: USA, Philippines, Poland.
Losses: Israel, Singapore, UAE (?)

Arirang report

KAI is the T-50′s prime contractor, and is responsible for the design of the fuselage and tail unit, final assembly of the aircraft, and design of the accompanying training systems. The mid-mounted variable camber wings are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, who is also responsible for the avionics and fly-by-wire flight control system, and provides technical consulting.

The production line at Saechon is designed for a 1.5-aircraft-per-month production capability with a single shift, but the assembly process can produce up to 2.5 aircraft per month by simply adding another shift if orders increase. Man Sik Park, director of the T-50 management team at Sacheon, adds that “Getting more customers than our line can currently handle is no problem because we can increase the production rate further with additional tools and assembly jigs.”

TA-50 drops tank
(click to view full)

The ROKAF already has production orders for 102 of KAI’s aircraft: 50 T-50 trainers, 22 TA-50 LIFT/ light fighters (with an option for another 22), 10 T-50B aerobatic aircraft that replaced the Black Eagles’ A-37 Dragonflys, and 20 FA-50s. Further domestic orders may follow in 2013 for 40-110 more upgraded FA-50 variants, to replace the RoKAF’s F-5 Tiger II and F-4 Phantom fighters.

Outside South Korea, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems and KAI have created the T-50 International Company (TFIC) to pursue export markets. Indonesia (16 TA-50/T-50i) remains the only export customer so far.

The FA-50 in particular will offer performance that competes favorably with likely competitors such as the Chinese/Pakistani JF-17, and India’s Tejas LCA. All 3 of these jets are likely to find themselves competing in the niche once occupied by a pair of 1960s-1970s era competitors – Russia’s MiG-21s, and Northrop’s amazingly popular F-5, which still flies with the ROKAF. Both aircraft types are still flying in many air forces, and both are reaching the end of their lifespan. Hence the market opportunity. Unlike its Chinese and Indian competitors, however, the F/T/A-50 family’s secondary fighter trainer role makes it attractive to first and second world air forces as well.

Contracts & Key Events

KAI’s TA-50
(click to view full)

May 7/13: KAI borrows the people who seem to write most of our consumer electronics technical manuals, in order to describe the 1.1 trillion won (about $1.02 billion) ROKAF contract for full rate production of the FA-50. Based on our translation of their English translation, KAI seems to be saying that follow-on FA-50s will begin arriving in August 2013, and that production will continue into 2016. This timeline fits previous reports, and implies that KAI has been doing advance production work.

KAI’s writers wouldn’t be faithful to the spirit of those technical manuals if they didn’t leave out important information, so they made sure to leave out the number of planes bought. The ROKAF ordered 20 FA-50s in December 2011, and was slated to order another 40-110 as the follow-on. Given the contract funding, and expected costs, it appears that the ROKAF has ordered another 40 FA-50s, at around $25.5 million per plane.

You’re denying yourself one of life’s guilty pleasures if you don’t read the original KAI release in all its glory. See also: UPI.

40 (?) FA-50s for the ROKAF

March 6/13: Philippines. The Zamboanga City Times reports that the country’s Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has only just given the go-ahead to draw up a Terms of Reference document, in advance of a government-to-government deal for 12 FA-50 fighters.

The document will define what has to be achieved; stakeholders, roles and responsibilities; resource, financial and quality plans; work breakdown structure and schedule; and success factors/risks. That isn’t a small job, yet the official line is that the TOR will be done and negotiations held by the end of 2013, which aircraft flying within about 2 years – or about a decade after they retired the F-5s in 2005. It’s possible, but both of those dates seem optimistic at best.

Jan 30/13: Philippines. Agence France Presse reports that the Philippines is headed into negotiations with KAI in February 2013, and expects to have a deal by July. Their jets won’t arrive until 2015.

The big question is, which jets they will be? AFP and Flight International report that they’ll be FA-50 fighter variants, rather than the TA-50 armed trainers. If the PAF technical team mentioned in the Oct 29/12 entry came back with unsatisfactory answers about the TA-50, KAI’s FA-50 is the logical next option. Close parsing of the public statements made by Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez don’t provide direct confirmation. FA-50s will be more expensive, however, making TA-50s a potential fallback option in negotiations. Nothing is final yet, and we’ll only know the answer when the deal is done.

Postscript: Manila Channel wins the award for media confusion, by posting a graphic of Russia’s developmental T50 stealth fighter in their story. Uh, guys, these aren’t the fighter jets you’re looking for. Chosun Ilbo | Manila Channel | Manila’s Sun Star | Bloomberg | Flight International.

T-50 line
(click to view full)

October 2012: FA-50. The FA-50 gets South Korean type certification. Source.

Oct 29/12: Philippines. The Philippine Star says that a PAF technical team is investigating whether the TA-50 can deliver “medium range missiles”, and the quality of its radar system. If the country decides to remain on course for a competition, these questions will become more important.

Radars are important to surveillance as well as air superiority, and the Philippines needs both. South Korea has a partnership with IAI for its EL/M-2032 radar, which includes surface scan capabilities, on the FA-50; will the Philippines pay for that? Beyond the radar, the term “medium range missile” is very ambiguous. TA-50s can deliver AGM-65 Maverick short-range strike missiles or AIM-9 Sidewinder short range air-to-air missiles, but they would require additional integration to deliver a medium range anti-ship weapon like an American AGM-154C JSOW glide bomb, an anti-ship missile like the AGM-84 Harpoon, or a medium-range air-to-air missile like the AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Oct 28/12: Philippines. The Philippine Star reports that their buy is becoming a competition again:

“The Philippine Air Force (PAF)’s planned acquisition of lead-in fighter jets from South Korea or any friendly state may take longer than expected after it was decided that the multi-billion peso defense procurement will be bid out instead of the government entering into a government-to-government deal.”

That changes Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin’s June announcement of a TA-50 buy from South Korea, with deliveries expected to begin in 2013. Philippine media report that the offer of 12 jets would include a soft loan of $560 million from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, disbursed through the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

Aug 6/12: KAI privatization crashing. The government wants to privatize KAI, but finding a bidder has been difficult, and it looks like they’re about to fail on the Aug 16/12 deadline.

The government and its Korea Finance Corporation (KoFC) wanted to sell 41.75% of KAI via a publicly opened bid, which includes 11.4% of KoFC’s 26.41%, and shares owned by Samsung Techwin (10%), Hyundai Motor (10%), Doosan (10%), and KDB Bank (0.34%). The bid terms require at least 2 competing bidders, but as the JoongAng Daily explains, all of the major South Korean firms who could afford such a bid have other priorities. The asking price is also perceived to be high, and the market is reinforcing that by driving down KAI’s share price in anticipation of a failure to privatize it. Now political opposition to privatization is also growing, which could be the final nail in the coffin.

Aug 2/12: Philippines pick. The Philippines DND’s undersecretary for finance, munitions, installations and materiel, Fernando Manalo, makes the country’s choice official: KAI’s T-50s. Chinese bullying in the West Philippine Sea around Scarborough Shoal played a significant role in pushing them toward a more capable fighter, which would remove the M-346 from contention. Meanwhile, used F-16s were seen as too expensive to operate, with little airframe life left.

The problem is that without an approved modernization budget, the armed forces can’t sign a contract. If the country does sign a contract by the end of 2012, they want 2 of the Golden Eagles to be delivered immediately, so that their pilots will be trained by the time the other 10 arrive in 2015. Manilla Bulletin | Manilla Standard Today.

June 20/12: Philippine buy? ABS-CBN news of the Philippines quotes Philippine air force officials as saying they will buy 12 TA-50s, in order to restore the air force’s ability to police Philippine airspace.

That ability was lost when the country retired its remaining F-5 aircraft in 2005, and the USA no longer bases fighters at Clark AB or USNB Subic Bay. Chinese violations of Philippine airspace and claimed maritime zones have been creating a lot of tension, and the country has been looking at its options for a couple of years now. Their efforts have involved requests for 12 used American F-16s, as well as examination of KAI’s TA-50 and Alenia’s M-346 Master. The M-346 doesn’t have an armed version yet, and the USA hasn’t issued a formal DSCA clearance yet. That leaves the TA-50 as its only approved option that can be bought right now.

The TA-50 deal is reportedly worth around 25 billion pesos (about $590 million), with a contract expected by the end of 2012. All 12 fighter jets are expected to be delivered by the end of 2013. If so, the Philippines would join its neighbor Indonesia as a TA-50 customer.

A 2nd contract for 6 fixed-wing aircraft is expected to replace the country’s OV-10 Bronco counter-insurgency planes, and designs from the USA (likely the AT-6B), Brazil (Super Tucano), and Korea (likely the KT-1) are expected to compete. Given the TA-50′s 2-seat design and ability to use laser-guided weapons, another possibility would be to add options to any TA-50 contract, and use it in both roles. This would be less effective for counter-insurgency, or as an intermediate trainer, but contribute more to airspace policing and defense. It depends where the country’s priorities lie at the time, and external events are unstable enough to change them. Philippines’ ABS-CBN | ABS-CBN re: 2nd buy | South Korea’s Yonhap.

May 16/12: Philippines. Philippine President Benigno Aquino says that his government had asked to buy second-hand F-16s from the USA, but is concerned that maintenance costs on these aging aircraft could end up being too high. This was the problem that forced the country to mothball its F-5 force in 2005, but it seems there is good news. From the AFP report:

“We do have an alternative, and – this is a surprise – it seems we have the capacity to buy brand-new, but not from America… These are manufactured by another progressive country that I won’t name at this point.”

Feb 17/12: US T-X delayed. The USAF confirms that it won’t make a T-X selection until 2016, and doesn’t expect initial operational capability for its new trainers until 2020. Until then, they will continue to use 2-seat F-16Ds to bridge the gap from T-38 trainers, to the F-22A and F-35. Flight International.

Feb 11/12: International training. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quotes an unidentified defense ministry source who said that Portugal has become the preferred partner for a WON 300 billion (about $267 million) T-50 International Military Flight Training Center Consortium (IMFACC). A Memorandum of Understanding might be reached as early as March 2012.

If Portugal wins, they will have beaten potential sites in the USA, Australia, the Philippines and Spain. IMFACC will be a training center for international customers like Indonesia, as well as South Korean pilots who need to be free of flight time restrictions in their own, crowded country. Portugal has large over-water territories to facilitate flight training, and offers a more central location than Australia or the Philippines.

Feb 7/12: FA-50 radars? IAI reveals a $150 million order from an unnamed customer for its EL/M-2032 fighter radar, from an unnamed customer. A Globes report places the customer within Asia, and the timing is one of several factors that suggests a South Korean order.

Read “IAI’s $150M EL/M-2032 Radar Contract Mystery” for full coverage. It includes a survey of potential Asian customers, and the other likely candidate for this order.

Feb 3/12: US T-X. Asia One reports that recent announcements of US budget cuts are expected to affect the T-50, as the USA’s cornerstone T-X program looks set to be delayed:

“The US is by far the largest market for KAI, which hopes to sell at least 350 units to it. But it has deferred its decision on whether to acquire new trainer jets or develop them on its own, or turn their old fighters into trainer aircraft. The so-called T-X project is expected to be further delayed given the US defence cuts. Experts have estimated that the global demand for trainer jets and light fighters over the next three decades will amount to around 3,300 units. KAI aims to export around 1,000 units during that period.”

FA-50 prototype
(click to view full)

Dec 28/11: FA-50. Korea Aerospace Industries signs a 20-plane, $600 million FA-50 production contract with DAPA, bringing total T-50 family orders to 102 planes. This is a follow-on to the December 2008 development contract, which produced 4 prototype and test aircraft. Deliveries to the ROKAF are expected to begin in 2014.

South Korean orders could eventually swell to over 100 FA-50s, as the ROKAF seeks to replace its F-5E/Fs. This could also help in competitions like Poland’s, by broadening KAI’s in-production T-50 family technology options. KAI | Flight International.

20 FA-50s

Nov 22/11: AESA for KF-16s? Raytheon declares that it is “responding to the Republic of Korea’s official launch of the F-16 radar upgrade competition with the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar system (RACR).” RACR is designed as a drop-in AESA radar for F-16 fighters, and is based on the technologies in the AN/APG-79 radar that equips US Navy Super Hornets.

No word yet on other competitors, but any KF-16 AESA upgrade could break a technology logjam for the FA-50 as well.

Oct 28/11: Poland. Poland steps back from its existing trainer & light fighter RFP, and says it will re-do the competition. They seem to have been surprised at the cost of meeting their previous specifications, and will opt for a trainer with lower combat capabilities in the next round. That means the new jets won’t really be able to replace their SU-22s, but it also means that, in the words of deputy defense minister Marcin Idzik, Poland won’t “be the sole country to acquire such an [aircraft as we had requested].” This implies that even the TA-50, which looked to have good odds of winning the bid, was insufficient.

The new RFP is expected in spring 2012. Read “Poland Seeks Advanced Jet Trainers/ Light Fighters” for full coverage.

Oct 10/11: Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports that KAI has formally partnered with Lockheed Martin in its bid to sell T-50 trainers to Israel, citing the advantage of being able to use American military aid funds. That possibility has been a live option since September, but this makes it official.

In Israel, KAI is once again competing against Alenia’s M-346 Master. Italy has reportedly made an interesting barter offer, and the 2 countries built close ties under Prime Minister Berlusconi. Israel’s final choice will be a significant geopolitical decision – read “Trainer Jets for Israel: Skyhawk Scandal Leads to End of an Era” for a full explanation, and ongoing coverage.

Sept 15/11: US FACO? The Korea Herald reports that Lockheed Martin is setting up a T-50 final assembly and check-out (FACO) plant in the USA. That makes perfect sense as it competes for the USA’s pending T-X trainer competition, and it also affects Israel’s buy. If the T-50 series can be considered an American product, that means Israel could buy it with American foreign aid dollars. The M-346 is unlikely to be able to offer that, which would give the Korean jet a significant edge.

The existing T-50 Golden Eagle contract reportedly states that KAI takes 70% percent of the production work, while Lockheed takes the rest. The firms would not address speculation that this ratio might be adjusted for the US T-X and /or Israeli competitions.

June 2011: Iraq. Jane’s Defence Weekly reports that the Iraqis may have made an oil-for-aircraft deal to buy Korean T-50 family jet trainers, some of which could also serve as effective light fighters. If so, this indicates serious budget issues, and makes the reported deal for Aero Vodochody L159T jet trainers questionable. Will the L-159′s potential Iraq deal become yet another canceled Czech?

As of Jan 5/12, however, no public announcement had been made regarding either platform.

T-50: takeoff
(click to view full)

May 25/11: Indonesia win. Well, that was fast. KAI executive VP Enes Park is quoted as saying that the Indonesian Defense Ministry signed a $400 million deal for 16 jets – or $25 million per plane, which is not the deep discount deal touted earlier. Aviation Week says that the contract reportedly involves a T-50 with a gun and weapon pylons (i.e. TA-50), though the actual designation is T-50I.

The planes will replace about 10 Hawk Mk.53 subsonic trainers, and may also supplement or replace the TNI-AU’s 5-6 remaining F-5E/F fighters. Read “Indonesia Looking for Trainer/Attack Aircraft” for full coverage.

May 20/11: Indonesia win? In the wake of an ROK-Indonesian agreement to expand economic and industrial cooperation via a joint secretariat, and reports that KAI has been designated as Indonesia’s preferred trainer jet bidder, Indonesia’s Amir Sambodo suggests that Indonesia might buy 16 T-50 family jets, in exchange for 4 or more additional CN-235 aircraft bought from Indonesia’s Digiranta. Read “Indonesia Looking for Trainer/Attack Aircraft” for full coverage.

April 12/11: Indonesia. The Indonesian government sends a letter to KAI, designating the South Korean firm as the preferred bidder to replace Indonesia’s BAE Systems Hawk 53s. Source.

Indonesia is 1st export win

Feb 24/11: UAE stall. Flight International reports that M346 negotiations between the UAE and Alenia Aermacchi have stopped, with no word on when they might resume. Having said that:

“The door appears to remain closed to KAI and the T-50, with officials from the South Korean company agreeing. “Obviously, we would love to get back into the competition and offer the T-50. But we have not had any discussions with the UAE officials about the T-50 since they picked the M-346, and we are not expecting that to change any time soon,” says a KAI official.”

That quote would seem to contradict recent reports by UPI and Defense News, which said that the UAE had re-opened talks.

Alenia’s M346
(click to view full)

Oct 25/10: Iraq Czeched? Prague Monitor and Iraq Business report that the Czech Republic might sell up to 25 used Aero L-159s to Iraq. Iraq has been holding a competition for 24 jet trainers between Korea’s T-50, the UK’s Hawk, and Italy’s M-346.

If the L-159 has become a focus, rather than just a competitor, it’s likely that the price of new jet trainers was too high, given other pressing needs – and that Iraq is now looking at value over newness. Time will tell.

Sept 2/10: Poland RFP. Poland’s Ministry of Defense (MON) issues its jet trainer RFP for 16 planes, plus support, related training systems like simulators; and initial training for 6 instructors, 6 pilots, and 50 ground crew. 1.45 billion zlotys (about $467 million) has been budgeted, and the T-50 is a contender.

Aug 9/10: Indonesia finalists. Air Forces Monthly reports that Indonesia’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has narrowed its 16 plane advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft shortlist to the Czech Aero L-159B, South Korea’s T-50 Golden Eagle, and Russia’s Yak-130.

That leaves both Alenia’s M346 Master and China’s JL-9/FTC-2000 out in the cold. Interestingly, the common denominator for the 2 eliminated types is poor secondary ground attack capabilities.

July 1/10: Singapore loss? Defense News reports that Singapore’s government has selected Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 as the preferred bidder in its $1.3 billion competition for 48 advanced jet trainers. Aermacchi teamed up with Singapore’s ST Aero to compete against the KAI-Lockheed team, with Boeing providing the ground-based training system to support the M-346.

Singapore’s MINDEF has not made its decision public, and neither KAI, nor Aermacchi, nor South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) procurement and export agency could confirm the tip. The report adds that the UAE’s M346 deal remains in limbo over a side deal to develop UAVs together, which may give the T-50 an opening. Singapore’s loss in particular is a sharp blow to the platform, however, and may set other events in motion – including privatization:

“The state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced in April 2009 that it would sell its 30.5 percent stake in KAI, which has three other major local shareholders – Samsung Techwin, Doosan Infracore and Hyundai Motors, each with a 20.54 percent stake. But KDB temporarily withdrew from its decision in the face of opposition from KAI’s labor union, which argued that the privatization effort could hurt overseas sales of the T-50… Earlier this year, a KoFC(Korea Finance Corp.) official said, “If KAI fails to sell the T-50 to Singapore, discussions of the KAI privatization would certainly be resurfaced. Our position will be re-established after that.”

See also the official SAF cyberpioneer’s articles covering the BAE Hawk, Alenia M346, and KAI T-50.

April 6/10: SFW for FA-50s. Textron Defense System announces that the ROKAF will integrate their Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) smart cluster bombs on the FA-50 light combat aircraft. Through a foreign military sale led by the Eglin Air Force Base Air Armament Center and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration of South Korea, Textron Defense Systems expects to begin providing inert integration rounds starting in 2010.

Black Eagles T-50B
(click to view full)

Oct 29/09: AESA offered. Flight International reports that Raytheon officials are touting their RACR model AESA radar for the F/A-50 at the 2009 Seoul air show. Northrop Grumman’s similar SABR radar, which has been designed to compete with RACR in the F-16 retrofit market, is another possibility. Buying an American radar would step around the provisions that F/A-50 source code may not be shared with other countries; whether it would also overcome the agreements’ other obstacles remains to be seen.

Sept 21/09: Israel. Flight International reports that Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 Master and the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50 have emerged as the leading candidates to replace the Israeli Cheyl Ha’avir’s TA-4 Skyhawk advanced jet trainers. See also full DID coverage: “Israel’s Skyhawk Scandal Leads to End of an Era.”

Aug 2/09: Israel. As reports of Israeli radar cooperation to equip KAI’s TA-50 and FA-50s swirl around the media, Israel has sent a formal delegation to evaluate and test-fly the T-50 as a potential replacement for its Skyhawks. This is the first time in 40 years that Israel is considering purchasing a fighter jet not made either locally, or in the United States.

Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports that other candidates include the T-45 Hawk variant, and Alenia’s M-346. Media reports currently cite the T-50 family as the front-runners for the 20-30 plane Lead-In Fighter Trainer order. Read “Trainer Jets for Israel: Skyhawk Scandal Leads to End of an Era” for ongoing coverage.

July 23/09: IAI radar. The Korea Times reports that South Korea’s LIG Nex1 will sign a deal with Israel’s IAI Elta Systems on Sept 3/09. That deal will involve the first phase of development for an indigenous radar based on the EL/M-2032 passive phased array radar, to equip TA-50 and F/A-50 aircraft.

An official from the ROK’s DAPA procurement agency told the Times that the radar is expected to be built by the end of 2010, and enter service in 2011. In the mid- to long-term, sources told The Kora Times that the domestically-built radar is likely to be installed on upgraded KF-16 fighters. The Times adds that the effort may even lead to Korean development of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar under future agreements with IAI Elta, who has also developed the EL/M-2052 AESA.

The South Korean Air Force is buying 50 T-50 trainers, 22 TA-50s with secondary attack capabilities, and 10 T-50Bs modified for aerobatics; and is expected to add 60 F/A-50 light fighters by 2012 to replace its F-5 Tiger and F-4 Phantom fighters.

March 15/09: UAE post-mortem. The Korea Times cites an upcoming $500 million competition in Singapore between the Aermacchi M346 and KAI’s T-50, while delving into some of the reasons behind the recent UAE loss:

“The government’s role is much bigger than it appears in this kind of competition,” [the military analyst] said. “And what the Korean government did in the UAE is, to be frank, far from [adequate].” Italy, which had developed close ties with Middle Eastern countries over the years, rolled out marketing promotions there with pledges of large industrial cooperation projects, including construction of an F-1 racing track… [in contrast] None of the Korean projects have been delivered to Abu Dhabi through a ministerial channel.

When National Assembly Speaker Rep. Kim Hyeong-o visited the UAE in January, he heard from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, that the preferred bidder will be “decided upon industrial cooperation offered, as well as the trainer jet quality.” He remarked that the country hadn’t heard anything from Seoul for nine months… To make matters worse, Seoul didn’t even take the opportunity of a last chance from Abu Dhabi, after the Korean delegation failed to make it to February’s International Defense Exhibition & Conference held there, where UAE was awaiting a new offer.”

March 12/09: Price problem? The Korea Times publishes an article that wonders if the T-50′s supersonic speed has created a price handicap:

“Although the UAE acknowledged the T-50 has remarkably high quality, the country apparently put more value on cooperative projects in the aerospace industry that the Italian side pledged,” the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement, which also pointed out a disadvantage in price. A T-50 jet’s flyaway cost is set at 20 billion won to 25 billion won ($13.5 – $16.9 million), while the M-346 costs 18 billion won to 20 billion won.” [$12.15 - $13.5 million]

DID’s take? Advanced jet training does focus on in-air operation, take-off and landing, and blind flying, with secondary weapons training opportunities. Within those constraints, the price of supersonic flight may not be seen as worthwhile. What the capability does, is give the T-50 family a full secondary fighter role that goes beyond the traditional “secondary light ground attack” role for trainers. The ultimate question for the market to answer is how much it values that capability, in an era of shrinking defense budgets that create stronger demands for multi-role platforms, as well as closer attention to costs.

Feb 25/09: UAE setback. At IDEX 2009, the UAE announces that it has begun negotiations for 48 M-346 aircraft from Finmeccanica’s Aermacchi. If the EUR 1 billion deal is finalized, the T/A-50 will have lost this export competition.

Feb 24/09: Iraq. Iraq officially requests T-50 jets, even as Iraq and the ROK sign economic agreements to develop oil fields near Basra, and open Iraqi public infrastructure contracts to South Korean firms. For full details and updates, read “T/A-50 Golden Eagles for Iraq?”

Feb 11/09: Elisra ECM for FA-50. Flight International reports that Israel’s Elisra will supply the F/A-50′s electronic warfare and self-protection equipment, under an initial contract worth $7 million for the initial 4 prototypes. The equipment will be supplied over the next 2 years, and “Elisra sources indicate that the selected EW system will include radar warning receivers and chaff and flare dispensers.”

This contract involves the adaptation of proven systems, rather than a new design. The joint Elbit systems (70%)/ IAI (30%) venture Elisra already makes the self-protection systems that equip many of the IAF’s F-16s.

Jan 15/09: Iraq. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and the World Tribune both file reports concerning Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi’s ongoing visit to South Korea, which included inspection and a test flight of the T-50. South Korea sent a 3,600-strong contingent to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil in September 2004 as part of the U.S.-led forces, and a total of 18,000 South Korean troops served in rotation around northern Iraq until 2008.

DJ Elliott of the Long War Journal says that the T/A-50 was suggested in fall 2007 to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense by MNSTC-I’s Coalition Air Force Transition Team. Iraq’s pending trainer aircraft purchase appears to be Hawker Beechcraft’s T-6 Texan II, but a jet trainer is required as an interim step between the T-6 and more advanced planes like the F-16s Iraq is requesting. If Iraq begins with T/A-50s, however, they would also become the new IqAF’s first jet fighters, and give Iraq qualitative parity with many of the fighters currently flown by its semi-hostile neighbors Syria and Iran.

Read “T/A-50 Golden Eagles for Iraq?” for more.

Jan 12/09: M61. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products announces a contract by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for up to 82 of its 3-barreled M61 20mm cannons that will equip the T/A-50 and F/A-50 variants. Price was not disclosed, but deliveries will begin in October 2010.

Manufacturing will be performed at General Dynamics’ Saco, ME, facility, and the program will be managed by General Dynamics’ Burlington, VT facility. S&T Dynamics, LTD of South Korea is the designated Korean Industry Partner (KIP) for the program, and they will produce the ammunition containers under a subcontract arrangement with General Dynamics.

Jan 8/09: Poland. The Korea Times reports that Vice Defense Minister Kim Jong-cheon will visit Poland later from Jan 19-23, and that his agenda includes a push for the T-50 trainer. The jets may have very stiff competition, however, as Finland is re-selling its used BAE Hawk trainers.

The report also confirms that competitions are still active in Singapore (12-16 jets, up to $500 million) and the UAE (35-40, $1+ billion, subsequently lost to M346).

EL/M-2032
(click to view full)

Dec 30/08: FA-50 development. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signs a WON 400 billion (about $317 million) contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to develop 4 prototypes of the F/A-50 light attack jet by 2012.

Full production of about 60 aircraft is scheduled to begin in 2013, at which point the F/A-50s will begin replacing 1960s era A-37 dragonfly attack jets, F-5E/F Tiger II light fighters, and F-4 Phantom II fighters as the ROKAF’s low-end fighters. The Korean buy could extend to 150 aircraft, and its capabilities and price point make exports likely.

That potential was one of the reasons the F/A-50 project has been delayed. The F/A-50 is a joint KAI/ Lockheed martin project, and the agreement includes a number of provisions related to American weapons export policies, and to corporate interests at Lockheed Martin. One stipulation was that Lockheed would not transfer aircraft source code to other nations. Another was that the T-50′s capabilities could not exceed Korea’s F-16s. A 3rd provision banned South Korea from integrating T-50 variants with non-U.S. technology that the United States doesn’t have.

Korea originally wanted to equip the F/A-50 with the lightweight Vixen-500E AESA(Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar developed by U.K. firm Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems, but that would have violated all 3 of the above provisions. Lockheed Martin pushed for its AN/APG-67v4 radar, which equips the T/A-50 LIFT. Instead, the Koreans chose the proven EL/M-2032 mechanically scanned radar from Israel’s IAI Elta Systems. That radar serves on some Israeli F-16s and also equips a range of other aircraft around the world that include F-16s, F-4 Phantoms, F-5 Tigers, MiG-21s, Kfirs and other Mirage variants, India’s Sea Harriers, and India’s forthcoming Tejas lightweight fighter. Korea Times.

FA-50 development

Dec 10/08: After more than 40 years of service, Israel is finally looking to replace its versatile A-4 Skyhawk fleet. KAI’s T-50 family is reportedly one of the 4 contenders. Read “Israel’s Skyhawk Scandal Leads to End of an Era“.

Aug 28/08: An upgraded F/A-50 lightweight fighter counterpart would be a logical replacement for South Korea’s vintage F-5E/F and F-4 fighter fleet, and may also prove attractive as a global export. Flight International reports that the design is almost complete, but program approval for additional South Korean F/A-50s is being held up by 2 key issues.

One is the desire for an AESA radar, which would sharply improve the little fighter’s capabilities while lowering maintenance costs. Both Northrop Grumman (SABR) and Raytheon (RACR) have designed new AESA radars for F-16 refits, and the nature of AESA radars allows them to be resized very flexibly. The bad news is that negotiations with the US government haven’t been able to secure US authorization for AESA radar exports to South Korea. This forces the Koreans to go ahead with a more conventional but limited radar like the AN/APG-67v4, or put the F/A-50 on hold until AESA approval is granted. If it would be granted to a project that’s likely to compete with made-in-USA F-16s on the global export market.

The other issue is Lockheed Martin’s participation. Lockheed helped develop the T-50, and has the fighter development and advanced weapon integration experience that KAI lacks. On the other hand, its involvement raises costs. KAI is reportedly pushing for this partnership, but the government must conclude that the benefits would be worth those extra costs. Likely arguments to that end include lower project/financial risk, improved export prospects, and greater likelihood of American technology export approvals.

T-50, underside
(click to view full)

Nov 1/07: UAE. Reports claim that Aermacchi’s M-346 and KAI’s T/A-50 are the finalists in the UAE competition, with Britain’s Hawk LIFT eliminated by BAE’s own admission. Flight International report. A Korea Times report pegs the UAE’s purchase total at 35-40, rather than 60. Time will tell.

They also add a market prediction from KAI officials that expect T-50 variants will secure about 30% of the 3,300 aircraft global trainer market within 25 years – about 1,100 aircraft.

Oct 26/07: KOIS reports that Korea’s commerce and industry minister Kim Young-ju is headed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the T-50 is competing against the BAE Hawk Mk128 LIFT and Aermacchi’s M-346 for an estimated 60-plane, $1+ billion order. The UAE is expected to choose its next generation trainer jet by early November 2007. See “Korea’s commerce, industry minister pitches T-50 jet to UAE.”

Oct 15/07: On the eve of the Seoul 2007 Air Show, KOIS reports that the T-50 is poised to pick up orders in the United Arab Emirates (60 jets), Greece (30), and Singapore (40). “Korea is expected to sign the deals with the three nations this month or next month,” said Yoon Cha-young, executive director of the Korea Aerospace Industries Association.

July 17/06: Lockheed Martin release: “Last month program officials announced the opening of a new marketing office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This facility gives KAI greater proximity to potential customers in the Middle East and Europe and allows the Korean-based company an opportunity to grow its business-base.”

T-50: KAI-1
(click to view full)

Feb 11/05: The supersonic T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer has attained several significant technical milestones, including reaching maximum load factors (8g), maximum operating speed (Mach 1.3, design limit Mach 1.5), beginning stores separation testing (fuel tank jettison), and completing its second lifetime (lifetime = 8,334 flight hours) of structural durability testing. Lockheed Martin release.

Oct 26/04 – Jan 6/05: The T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer successfully completes aerial gunfire testing. A total of 10 test flights were conducted under a variety of flight conditions, including 3 supersonic flights. Testing included operation of the gun and ammo handling system, plus measurement of vibration levels and adequacy of the gun bay gas purging capability.

The tests used the 3rd Full Scale Development aircraft, the first in the A-50 lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) configuration. The gun is a lighter weight, internally mounted 3-barrel version of General Dynamics’ standard 6-barrel M61 used by many fighters. It has a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute, and the ammo system holds 205 rounds of ammunition. The gun will be used for both ground strafing and aerial gunnery training. Lockheed Martin release.

Feb 7/04: As part of the aircraft’s external stores testing, the first flight with external fuel tanks occurs. The 150-U.S. gallon, jettisonable fuel tanks are built by Sargent Fletcher of El Monte, CA. A single tank extends mission duration and range about 15-20%, and the three-tank configuration extends them by about 40%.

These external stores tests aim to verify the T-50 aircraft’s stability and control, flutter and handling qualities when loaded with fuel tanks, weapons, and other stores. Later flights will verify performance, store functionality and interfaces, and store separation. Approximately 280 sorties utilizing all 4 of the T-50 flight test aircraft are planned for external stores testing with external fuel tanks installed, and external stores flight testing will continue until the end of Full-Scale Development. The ROKAF is conducting the flight testing from Sacheon Air Base, South Korea. Lockheed Martin.

March 15/04: Lockheed Martin announces that the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has begun engine air start flight testing of the T-50′s F404-GE-102 jet engine. Air start testing involves intentionally shutting down the engine in flight and restarting it, in order to verify the air start envelope and procedures. This effort is expected to include 15 flight tests over a 7-month period.

Nov 3/03: T-50 Flight testing with captive AIM-9 air-to-air missiles is initiated. Source.

July 29/03: F/A-50? Flight International reports that KAI has begun a study for a possible fighter version of the T-50, even as it finalizes production plans with Lockheed Martin in preparation for an expected order for the first 24 T-50s next month.

April 28/03: The T-50 Golden Eagle completes its 100th test flight, and reaches a speed of Mach 1.2 on the same day.

On April 25th, the airframe durability vehicle completed one lifetime of testing, equivalent to 8,334 flight hours, at the Agency for Defense Development testing laboratory in Taejon, South Korea. Testing continues on a second lifetime, which is expected to be complete in April 2004. Lockheed Martin.

Nov 25/02: The T-50 Golden Eagle advanced supersonic trainer reaches its stated operational ceiling of 40,000 feet during a test flight. All systems operate normally.

The actual maximum service ceiling for the T-50 is estimated to be 48,500 feet, the altitude where rate of climb is limited to 100 feet per minute at maximum power (full afterburner). Lockheed Martin.

Nov 8/02: The 2nd T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer successfully completes its 47-minute flight from KAI’s facility at Sachon, South Korea. Lockheed Martin.

Additional Readings

The T-50 Family

• KAI – T-50 Family

• Lockheed Martin – T-50 Multirole Trainer

• Lockheed Martin Code One Magazine (Q4 2005) – T-50 Triumphs. Very detailed overview of features, and of their manufacturing approach as well.

• Air Force Technology – T-50 Golden Eagle Jet Trainer and Light Attack Aircraft, South Korea’

• Aeroflight UK – Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 Golden Eagle

• GE Aviation – Model F404-GE-102 engine

• SamsungThales – T-50, TA-50, FA-50

• DID – South Korea Looking to Upgrade its KF-16s. This could have an impact on the FA-50′s radar as well.

• Lockheed Martin Code One Magazine (Sept 26/11) – T-50 Program In Full Swing

• Flight International (Oct 12/09) – South Korea’s fighter requirements come to the fore. Extensive discussion of the F/A-50, and the KF-X.

• Defense News (April 30/09) – S. Korean Aerobatic Team to Debut T-50s

• Singapore Armed Forces cyberpioneer (June 30/08) – KOREAN GOLD The T-50 Golden Eagle. See also their articles covering its competitors: BAE’s Hawk and Alenia’s M346.

• Lockheed Martin, Code One Magazine (January 2007) – T-50 Golden Eagle

• Flight International (Feb 21/06) – Korea high: T-50 flight test Aside from a slight “wing rock” issue when attempting to reach g limits during certain turns, “My overriding impression of the T-50 was trainer that was easy to fly, with carefree aircraft and engine handling, and combined stunning performance with modern avionics. It also has the digital capacity to enable future upgrades that will allow the trainer to mimic closely the fourth-generation fighters it will support throughout its life. KAI has produced the T-50 at the right time and with the right specification to capitalise on a growing need for more advanced trainer.”

• Aviation Week, Paris Air Show (June 17/01) – T-50 Builders Court NATO Buyers And They First Show Cockpit Here . “The project is about three months ahead of schedule, for which the partners credit “a disciplined design, development and fabrication approach” that cut typical drawing release time by eight months and parts fabrication and subassembly time by five months. Major component mating began just 17 months after the partners froze the outer mold line design.”

Competitors & Market

• DID FOCUS – Finmeccanica’s M346: Who’s the Master Now?. The T-50′s most frequent competitor.

• Air Force Technology – M346 Advanced Fighter Trainer, Italy. Italy & Greece are involved.

• Air Force Technology – Yak-130 Combat Trainer, Russia. Closely related to the Aermacchi M346; they were once a joint program. Currently serves with or ordered by Russia and Algeria.

• Air Force Technology – Hawk Trainer / Light Combat Aircraft, United Kingdom. Hawk is probably the world’s most popular trainer.

• Air Force Technology – Hawk Mk 127 / Mk 128 LIFT Lead In Fighter Trainer, United Kingdom

• Air Force Technology – L159 ALCA Advanced Light Combat Aircraft, Czech Republic. Now it’s also a 2-seat trainer version. Bought by Czech air force, which is trying to sell some of its fleet due to budget issues, but without much success.

• Air Force Technology – MiG-AT – Advanced Flight and Combat Trainer Aircraft, Russia. No market traction as yet.

• DID FOCUS Article – India: LCA Tejas by 2010 – But Foreign Help Sought With Engine. The indigenous Kaveri engine project is dead, replaced by a foreign partnership attempt. Current Tejas fighters also fly with GE’s popular F404 engine, and IAI ELTA’s EL/M-2032 radar.

• DID FOCUS Article – Stuck in Sichuan: Pakistani JF-17 Program Grounded? No, it’s equipping active squadrons, and looking for exports.

• DID – KF-X: Pushing Paper, or Peer Fighter Program?. Will it be an FA-50 derivative? Will it even go ahead?

• Forecast International (March 25/09) – Fighter R&M Market Facing Conflicting Priorities. “In its new analysis entitled “The Market for Fighter/Attack/Trainer Retrofit & Modernization,” Forecast International estimates that nearly $20 billion will be spent on military aircraft upgrades during the 2009-2018 period. The United States alone is expected to earmark $9.5 billion for fighter/attack/trainer retrofit & modernization (R&M) programs, with the rest of the world kicking in another $10.3 billion… Caught between changing needs and tight budgets, militaries will seek upgrades for their air fleets that grant the greatest capability without being prohibitively expensive – literally, the most bang for their buck.”

Competitions Covered

• DID – Indonesia Looking for Trainer/Attack Aircraft. The T-50i and EMB-314 were picked.

• DID – T/A-50 Golden Eagles for Iraq?

• DID – Trainer Jets for Israel: Skyhawk Scandal Leads to End of an Era

• DID – Poland Seeks Advanced Jet Trainers/ Light Fighters

• DID – UAE Gives M346 a LIFT

Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA’s P-3 Orion turboprop fleet is falling apart. The P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program to create an improved P-3 began in 1988, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to the P-7′s cancellation for default in 1990. The successor MMA program was begun in March 2000, and Boeing beat Lockheed’s “Orion 21″ with a P-8 design based on their ubiquitous 737 passenger jet. US Navy squadrons finally began taking P-8A Poseidon deliveries in 2012, but the long delays haven’t done their existing P-3 fleet any favors.

Filling the P-3 Orion’s shoes is no easy task. What missions will the new P-8A Poseidon face? What do we know about the platform, the project team, and ongoing developments? Will the P-3′s wide global adoption give its successor a comparable level of export opportunities? Australia and India have already signed on, but has the larger market shifted in the interim?

P-8A Poseidon: Platform & Capabilities

P-8A Poseidon: cutaway
(click to view full)

The P-8 will use the same 737 airframe as the U.S. Navy’s C-40 Clipper naval cargo aircraft, the E-737 Wedgetail AWACS aircraft on order by Australia, Turkey, and South Korea; and the U.S. Air Force’s T-43 Navigation trainer. The base model is Boeing’s 737-800 ERX, with “raked” wingtips that improve performance for low-level flight.

That airframe must accomplish a wide range of tasks. It will search for and destroy submarines, monitor sea traffic, launch missile attacks on naval or land targets as required, act as a flying communications relay for friendly forces, and possibly provide and electronic signal intercepts. Like its predecessor, its radar capabilities will make it well suited for land-surveillance missions, when the Navy decides to use it that way.

A plane with that many capabilities will play a role in a number of emerging military doctrines. It will be a key component in the U.S. Navy’s Sea Power 21 doctrine’s Sea Shield concept, by providing an anti-submarine, anti-ship and anti-smuggling platform that can sweep the area, launch sensors or weapons as needed, and remain aloft for many hours. The P-8A MMA will also play a key role in the U.S. Navy’s FORCEnet architecture, via development of the Common Undersea Picture (CUP). As a secondary role, it will support portions of Sea Power 21′s Sea Strike doctrine with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

Unrefueled range is published as “over 4,000″ nautical miles/ around 7,500 km. A more strenuous flight profile would involve 4 hours on station conducting low-level anti-submarine missions, at a range of more than 1,200 nautical miles/ 2,200 km. A dorsal receptacle allows in-flight refueling if necessary.

P-8: Weapons

P-3 Orion, armed -
note Sidewinder
(click to view full)

The P-8A has 11 weapon hard points: 5 in the rotary weapon bay, 4 under the wings, and 2 under the fuselage. Weapon load can exceed 10t/ 22,000 pounds, and all hard points have digital weapon interfaces.

Given that P-3C Orions have been modified to carry sea-skimming attack missiles like the Harpoon, land attack missiles like the Maverick, and even AIM-9 Sidewinder air-air missiles, it seems reasonable to assume that the Poseidon MMA will be at least as capable. This will involve carrying sonobuoys, torpedoes, depth charges, Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, SLAM or AGM-65 Maverick land attack missiles, and either AIM-9 Sidewinders or NCADE-derived AIM-120 AMRAAMs with heat-seeking heads.

The P-8A’s initially-certified armament is likely to be more modest, however: Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes, depth charges, and some free-fall bombs, plus a built-in triple launcher and accompanying storage for up to 120 sonobuoys – or devices compatible with a sonobuoy launcher, such as Piasecki’s Turais UAV.

Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes equipped with Boeing’s GPS-guided High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability (HAAWC) glide bomb kit promise to extend the plane’s capabilities, by turning the torpedo into a weapon that can be launched from high altitude. That allows the P-8A to remain within its preferred aerodynamic envelope of high-altitude cruise, and reduce the fatigue and corrosion associated with low-level flight. Boeing was issued a development contract in April 2013, but this capability is not expected until P-8A Increment 2, however, with initial operating capability in 2016.

P-8: Sensors

P-8 AGS concept
(click to view full)

Weapons don’t mean much unless an enemy can be found. The P-8 will rely on a combination of radars, day/night surveillance equipment, and probably ESM(Electronic Support Measures) gear designed to pick up and trace the location of radars and other broadcasting electronics.

A canoe-shaped fairing under the plane is expected to house a mission bay that will initially include the Raytheon-Boeing AN/APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS), designed to provide targeting-grade tracking of moving targets on land and at sea. It reportedly emerged out of a “black” (classified) program, and details regarding the system remain sketchy. It’s known to be a Boeing-Raytheon AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) MTI(Moving Target Indicator) radar, and has already been deployed on some Navy P-3s (see pictures – scroll down to “NAWC-23 at Dallas Love Field”).

Later in the program, LSRS is slated for replacement by a modernized evolution called the Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS). It’s rumored to have performance standards that match or exceed the USA’s current 707-based E-8C JSTARS battlefield surveillance aircraft. The long profile of LSRS/AAS is probably why Boeing moved the P-8′s weapons bay to the back of the plane in 2003.

AN/APY-10 set
(click to view full)

The AN/APS-137Dv5 radar used on the USA’s most modern P-3Cs will also form a key part of the P-8A’s radar suite, after a number of upgrades and a new designation. This enhanced nose-mounted system has been referred to as AN/APS-197, but was formally given the AN/APY-10 designation in June 2006. It offers reduced weight, improved MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), and a color weather display. In the P-8A, it will also feature improvements such as “joint technical architecture” compliance, better performance in track-while-scan and target detection modes, and full integration with the Boeing mission system.

India’s P-8i adds air-to-air surveillance capabilities to its APY-10 International radar, an enhancement that could filter back to the US fleet in future upgrades.

The AN/ALQ-240v1 Electronic Support Measures system will alert the plane to radar and communications emissions, and geolocate them. It complements the Early Warning Self Protection System, and also enables fast offensive counterattacks.

The P-8′s radars and ESM will be supplemented by L-3 Wescam’s MX-20HD long-range optical surveillance turret. This large surveillance turret houses up to 3 day/night imaging sensors, and 3 laser payloads (i.e. rangefinding, marking/pointing, target designation) that can be swapped in and out. L-3 Enhanced Local Area Processing (ELAP) improves imaging clarity on board, extending effective range and image clarity before the images are broadcast elsewhere.

P-8: Upgrades & Variants

Mk54 HAAWC
(click to view full)

Additional modifications and improvements can be expected over the program’s life, as is the case for any major weapon systems. The P-8A was designed to incorporate additional “spiral development” of new weapons and equipment, and the first set is Increment 2. In addition to adding Longshot/HAAWC high altitude weapons capability, Increment 2 will feature acoustic and communications upgrades, including improvements to sonobuoy drops and processing. Increment 2 planes should become operational around 2016.

At the moment, India is the P-8′s only export customer, though Australia has signed an MoU ad paid for joint development. India’s P-8i jets will share a number of systems with the American P-8As, including a version of the AN/APY-10 radar. Other key technologies will be specific to the P-8i, however, owing to technology transfer issues or local choices.

Overland Role?

E-10 M2CA Concept
(click to view full)

With the cancellation of the USAF’s E-10 follow-on to its E-8 JSTARS battlefield surveillance planes, the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon may even be poised to inherit a dual land and sea surveillance role. USN P-3s have already found themselves pressed into overland service, and the much-greater capabilities of the P-8′s LSRS/AAS radars will only make that crossover more attractive. Boeing has already proposed to replace the USAF’s 17-plane JSTARS fleet with an add-on “P-8 AGS” order, as an alternative to upgrading the E-8s with new engines, radars, and electronics.

The push to use P-8 over land will be given added impetus by NATO’s cancellation of its AGS program’s Airbus 321 MCAR battlefield surveillance jet. The A321 MCAR’s demise leaves just 22 battlefield surveillance planes available for global use: the USA’s 707-based JSTARS fleet, and Britain’s newer 5-plane ASTOR Sentinel R1 fleet that’s based on the Global Express business jet.

NATO’s AGS is survived by a 5-UAV program based on the RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk, which was originally expected to work with the A321 MCAR as an adjunct. That same 2-tier model survives in the Poseidon program, however, and both tiers of the Navy program will offer land surveillance capabilities. The Poseidon’s Global Hawk UAV companion is called the MQ-4C Triton, developed under a program called BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance).

The P-8′s BAMS Companion: Kicking It Up a Notch

BAMS/P-8 mission sets
(click to view full)

The P-3 fleet’s heavy use in both maritime surveillance and overland roles points up a potential problem with the P-8A. As an expensive but in-demand asset, a wider coverage scope could actually accelerate the problem of high flight hours building up in a small fleet. The problem is that airplane lives are measured in flight hours, and usage intensity. See the Strategic Review article “Brittle Swords: Low-Density, High-Demand Assets” [PDF] for more background on this phenomenon.

The logical response is to pair the P-8s with a lower cost counterpart. Hence the P-8′s companion Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAV program, run by NAVAIR’s PMA-263 program management office.

The BAMS competition was widely seen as a fight between Northrop Grumman’s high-flying, jet-powered RQ-4 Global Hawk and General Atomics’ turboprop-powered Mariner (a cousin of its MQ-9 Reaper); but other options were offered as well, including an “optionally manned” business jet.

Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4N Global Hawk eventually won, and will be known as the MQ-4C Triton. The US Navy plans to buy 65 of them, and begin operations in 2015. Like the P-8, the MQ-4C is attracting export interest, which could grow the international fleet past 65 machines.

DID’s BAMS FOCUS Article covers MQ-4C requirements, international dimension, contracts, and developments. Given their expected numbers, the Tritons could easily find themselves joining their P-8 companions in overland surveillance roles.

P-8A Poseidon Program

Program Goal & Competitors

P-3C Orion
(click to view full)

In our opening paragraph, DID discussed the need to replace an aging P-3 Orion fleet that first entered service in 1959 [P-3A], and will serve to 2020 and beyond [P-3C+]. Many people would contend that the P-3 Orion is the greatest maritime patrol aircraft ever flown. These aircraft entered service in 1959, and will continue to serve past 2015. Modifications to their equipment have sharpened their capabilities, and even given them a land-attack and surveillance role. In service with 15 countries, the Orion is a great success – but it’s a very old success.

After the abortive P-3G program, the US Navy began a 2-year requirement study in 1997, and the Defense Acquisition Board initiated a number of concept studies during the 2000 to 2002 period. During a 2-phase Component Advanced Development (CAD) program in 2002-2003, Boeing and Lockheed each received $27.5 million to develop their initial designs.

Lockheed’s Orion21 design was based on the P-3 airframe, with United Technologies subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney (7,000 shp PW150A turboprop engine) and Hamilton-Sundstrand (the same 8-bladed NP2000 propeller being refitted to carrier-based E-2 Hawkeye AWACS and C-2 Greyhound aircraft) as key partners.

As noted above, Boeing’s design was based on its 737, one of the most widely produced passenger jets in the world.

The Controversy: Turboprop, or Turbofan Jet?

P-8A: older concept
(click to view full)

The Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program’s goal was a modern, highly reliable airframe that could be equipped with the latest sensors, weapons, and links to counterpart systems, creating improved surveillance over water and land, and upgraded attack capabilities. Officials hope this will allow a smaller force to provide worldwide responsiveness, while using a smaller support infrastructure.

While a 737 would appear to meet these criteria in spades, it was, and in some quarters still is, a controversial choice. Passenger jets like the 737 are built for high-altitude cruising, whereas a maritime patrol aircraft often needs to operate for long periods at altitudes of 200 feet or less above the water. On the other hand, if a 737-based aircraft could successfully perform its maritime patrol duties, it would offer many advantages. They would include commonality with the huge civil 737 fleet, commonality with other military platforms that use the 737 airframe, and other cost, support, and recruitment benefits.

Excerpts from Lockheed Martin’s December 2003 and April 2004 press releases summed up the other side of this argument:

“We made a deliberate design decision to select a turboprop engine because it is optimal for the mission profile. It will give our aircraft a 60% shorter takeoff roll… The turboprop engines will give the aircraft 25 percent more power, 60 percent more thrust and burn 27 percent less fuel than a turbofan, while providing 50 percent faster thrust response under key ASW low altitude loiter conditions. These characteristics are important when flying at heavy weights, slow speeds and very low altitudes, which is how the Navy will operate this aircraft… This propulsion system brings a balanced capability to all required missions. MMA will have to be flown high, low, fast and slow and remain on-station for very long periods of time while carrying a variety of weapon and sensor packages.”

P-8A: Sonobuoy drop
(click to view full)

The P-8A isn’t the only maritime patrol aircraft to use a jet as its base. Britain’s Nimrod aircraft, based on the 1950s-era DeHavilland Comet passenger jet, has filled a similar role for decades. Before its cancellation, the new BAE-Boeing Nimrod MRA4 upgrade was set to use a set of Rolls Royce BR710 engines, which can also be found on long-haul business jets like Bombardier’s Global Express. Boeing could also point to its successful 737 Surveiller maritime patrol aircraft program in Indonesia, which had provided maritime patrol and exclusive economic zone surveillance over a critical global waterway since 1993.

In the end, however, Boeing decided that seeing was believing. They took a a 737 that leveraged their Indonesian experience, had 2 functional mission system consoles installed, and toured US Navy bases and Naval Air Stations in Brunswick, ME; Jacksonville, FL; Norfolk, VA; Kaneohe, HI, and Whidbey Island, WA. Navy personnel were allowed to fly the aircraft and sit at the consoles, and Boeing demonstrations reportedly included maximum power take-off and climb to 40,000 ft, manual control with no hydraulics, maximum rate of descent at over 10,000 ft/minute, tactical maneuvers at the not-uncommon maritime patrol altitude of 200 feet, simulated single engine flying, and short-field landing simulations.

Lockheed may have had a point re: sustained turboprop performance, but the thought of plugging into the skills and maintenance base that supports the huge global 737 fleet was very appealing – and the 737 had just demonstrated what the Navy apparently considered “good enough” performance. Its higher cruising speed would also give it faster response time.

Team Boeing won the contract.

Program Timeline

In June 2004, Boeing IDS’ 737-based proposal was awarded the $3.9 billion cost-plus-award-fee contract to develop the Navy’s P-8 Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft. The P-8′s system design and development (SDD) contract covers the full range of platform development including all of the on-board mission systems, the modifications to the airframe itself, all of the training systems, and all of the software laboratories required to produce almost 2 million lines of reliable code. It also covers all of the integrated logistics elements, including the trainers, simulators and courseware. Essentially, everything that’s required to get ready to build the production P-8 is part of the SDD contract.

The MMA Program was cleared by a US technical review board to proceed into the design phase, and passed a preliminary design review in September 2005. In January 2007, their entry received the formal US Navy designation of P-8A Poseidon; and in July 2007, Australia made the P-8 an international program by giving their participation “first pass approval.” In December 2008, India became the 1st export, with a customized P-8i design.

The P-8A is scheduled to achieve American Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2013. IOC is defined as 1 squadron of 6 aircraft, with personnel who are trained and certified to deploy.

US P-8A Program Budgets

Recent budgets for the P-8A program from FY 2008 to the present have included:

Excel
download

Note that annual budgets also include advance procurement for the next year’s buy, so that key items like engines and other long lead-time equipment are ready to go when it’s time to build the P-8s. For instance, the FY 2012 request included long-lead items for 13 FY 2013 aircraft. The Pentagon says that “aircraft procurements are tightly coupled to the [expected] P-3 retirement rates,” but budget cuts will begin to affect production after 2013.

US Numbers and Basing

The U.S. program began as 108 planes, and formally stands at 117 plus an additional 8 system design & development aircraft (6 flight-test, 2 ground-test). There will actually be 125 airframes, but the 1st developmental test aircraft (“T1″), and 2 the ground-based static and fatigue test planes, aren’t fully configured aircraft. As such, they aren’t included in the official program total. The aircraft procurement phases of the U.S. P-8A MMA program alone are estimated as a $25+ billion effort, and then the total life cycle cost for procurement plus 25 years of life cycle support was estimated to be about $44 billion in FY 2004 dollars. The current American basing plan is for:

• 5 operational squadrons of 6 planes each at NAS Jacksonville, FL (30)
  
• 1 larger “Fleet Readiness” training squadron at NAS Jacksonville, FL (12)
  
• 4 squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island, WA (24)
  
• 3 squadrons in Kaneohe, Hawaii by 2019 (18)
  
• 2 “development squadrons” with 2 aircraft each (4). They will be used for testing and development of standard tactics and procedures, before moving on to operational service at locations to be determined.

• “Pipeline attrition” aircraft that can temporarily replace aircraft that are taken out of action for maintenance, permanently replace crashed aircraft for a squadron, or be inserted as “rotation substitutes” to help keep the fleet’s flying hours more even (20, likely 19 now).

Alternative basing arrangements under consideration could drastically reduce the number of planes in Hawaii, and put many more aircraft in Jacksonville. That seems like an odd arrangement for a Pacific-facing naval strategy, but matching strategies with deployments is not a US Navy strength.

P-8A Industrial Partners

The P-8i program in India has also attracted its own set of industrial partners, due to a combination of Indian insistence on local content, and security/technology transfer concerns from the USA. Industrial partners in India include well known players like Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Dynamatic Technologies Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T), Wipro Ltd., as well as a set of less familiar aerospace and electronics players. See full coverage at “P-8i: India’s Navy Picks Its Future High-End Maritime Patrol Aircraft“.

As things currently stand, key P-8A Poseidon partners, and some other sub-contractors, include:

One innovation within this group involves the way the base airframes are built. The traditional approach for military planes derived from passenger jets has been to either have a separate production line, or to take a normal airframe from the existing line and make structural changes to it on the military line, along with equipment installations. For the P-8A, the process is different.

The fuselages arrive from Spirit’s commercial 737 production line in Wichita, KS already strengthened, without windows, and with a weapons bay. No modifications are necessary.

Outfitting is completed in Renton, WA, where all or the P-8′s other unique structural features are added right on the main 737 production line. Aircraft quality and performance acceptance flight testing takes place right at Renton Field.

Final installation and checkout of the mission system and special flight test instrumentation happens at Boeing Field, near Seattle, WA.

P-8A Poseidon: Contracts & Events

Unlike many other military programs, Boeing appears to be handling the sub-contracts for most of the plane’s equipment itself, which leaves production order figures much closer to the plane’s true purchase cost.

Unless otherwise noted, US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contracts. Note that items unique to India’s P-8is will be covered in that article, and not here.

P-8A in Japan
(click to view full)

May 7/13: Support. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $14.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for interim P-8A support. All funds are committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Dallas, TX (56%) and Seattle, WA (44%); and is expected to be complete in November 2013 (N00019-09-C-0022, PO 0076).

May 3/13: Basing. Rep. Rick Larsen [D-WA-2] emerged from a meeting about the US Navy strategic plan for 2013 – 2030, and promptly told local media that NAS Whidbey Island would be getting 49 planes (8 squadrons), instead of the 24 aircraft (4 squadrons) based there under the original plan. The first 2 P-8A squadrons arrive at NAS Whidbey in 2015, a 3rd will follow in 2016, Sqadrons #4-6 arrive in 2017, and the 7th and last squadron arrives in 2018.

The Navy had been considering new basing plans (vid. Nov 14/12), and Larsen’s disclosure indicates that they’ve chosen “Alternative 2″: 49 planes in Whidbey Island, WA; 47 in NAS Jacksonville, FL; and just 2 in MCB Hawaii Kaneohe Bay. The big loser is obviously Hawaii, which lost 16 of the 18 P-8s that were supposed to be based there. for wide-ranging coverage of the Pacific.

Whidbey’s P-8s are deployable planes, but the crews’ families will be in Washington State, and so will more advanced maintenance and support. Whidbey News Times.

April 29/13: Training. A $21.5 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to upgrade the Training System Support Center for P-8A LRIP Lot 3, including tooling and data for the Weapons Tactics Trainer. All funds are committed immediately, and $21.1 million will expire at the end of the fiscal year, on Sept 30/13.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in August 2016 (N00019-09-C-0022).

April 17/13: P-8i. India’s P-8i completes flight testing, which included dropping Mk.82 500 pound unguided bombs. Printed materials describe them as “depth bombs” (anti-submarine depth charges), but it’s also true that the addition of an inexpensive Boeing kit could convert Mk.82 bombs to GPS-guided JDAMs, or even JDAM-ER glide bombs with extended range. Time will tell whether the P-8 family capabilities expand in this direction. Boeing feature, incl. video | Boeing Frontiers magazine.

April 10/13: FY 2014 Budget. The President releases a proposed budget at last, the latest in modern memory. The Senate and House were already working on budgets in his absence, but the Pentagon’s submission is actually important to proceedings going forward. See ongoing DID coverage.

The US Navy is clearly focused on cash flow rather than total costs, and the P-8A joins other programs that will pay more long-term, in order to pay less per year in the near term. The FY 2014 budget subtracts 9 P-8As from FY 2014-2016, while adding 11 from FY 2017-2018. The procurement difference is around $1.3 billion, but the value of the 2 added planes means the Navy is paying about $800 million more on an even comparison. Assuming the Navy actually sticks to this new plan through 2018, rather than making further cuts.

April 3/13: HAAWC. Boeing in St. Charles, MO wins a $19.2 million combination cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-fixed-price-incentive, firm-fixed-price contract to design and build HAAWC (High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability) kits for lightweight torpedoes. HAAWC is its own effort, but it’s also arguably the most important improvement slated for P-8A Increment 2 aircraft (q.v. Feb 18/13, for changes to the planes). Boeing will build on their experience with JDAM GPS guidance and GBU-39 SDB-I wing kits, in order to create a strap-on kit that adds precision guidance and long glide ranges to existing lightweight torpedoes.

$14.2 million is committed immediately, and $9.8 million of that will expire at the end of the fiscal year, on Sept 30/13. The contract includes options that could raise its value to $47 million.

Work is expected to be completed by April 2016. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via FedBizOpps, and 3 offers were received by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-13-C-6402). See also Boeing.

March 28/13: GAO Report. The US GAO tables its “Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs“. Which is actually a review for 2012, plus time to compile and publish. The P-8A is generally proceeding well, and Boeing has come to an agreement over limited release of commercially-sensitive pricing information:

“According to program officials, the P-8A has reduced the unit cost of the aircraft on each of its first three production contracts. To help ensure the price is fair and reasonable, DOD negotiated an agreement with Boeing to provide the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) access to data on select Boeing commercial aircraft procurements. The P-8A airframe has been designated a commercial item, so the contractor is not required to submit cost or pricing data. Officials indicated DCAA did not raise any concerns regarding the reasonableness of aircraft pricing prior to the award of the third production contract.”

March 29/13: #7 delivered. Boeing hands over P-8A #7 to the U.S. Navy on schedule, and it departs for NAS Jacksonville, FL. It’s the 1st delivery from the LRIP-2 order. Boeing.

March 25/13: AAS. Aviation Week reports that Boeing will soon get another fatigue testing contract, this time to test the effects of the canoe-shaped AAS long-range radar fairing. Adding it creates new fatigue stress points, so the S-2 full-scale fatigue-test platform at Boeing will conduct 2 complete AAS mission lifetimes, then a 3rd P-8A mission lifetime without the AAS, followed by a residual-strength test and a tear-down analysis.

This is expected to be a $138 million effort, running through 2017. Boeing has already started flight certification work involving AAS-equipped P-8s (vid. Feb 1/12), and this is a logical next step. The AAS is expected to become operational sometime shortly after P-8A Increment 2, which is expected to be in service around 2016.

March 14/13: Fatigue testing. A $128.4 million cost-plus-award-fee contract modification covers engineering labor to perform extended lifetime fatigue testing, teardown, and post-teardown analysis of the P-8A airframe. These tests, and the changes that result, are necessary before the US Navy can set a safe flight hours limit for the airframe. They’re hoping for 150% of the airframe’s specified service life, but the testing will tell. Using a long-serving civilian jet as the base should give the Navy a pretty good starting point, but there are some structural changes in this version, and the usage patterns will be rather different.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (95%), and St. Louis, MO (5%), and is expected to be complete in December 2018. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2013 Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation, Navy contract funds. US NAVAIR in Patuxent River Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-04-C-3146).

March 8/13: Training. A $12.4 million firm-fixed-price contract modification aims to keep the P-8 simulators in sync with produced aircraft. They’ll update 3 systems to the TR-12 software version, and go through Aircraft Program Revision Records from Block 9.2 to TR-12 to see if they need to add anything else.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in December 2013. All contract funds are committed immediately, and expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30/13 (N00019-09-C-0022).

March 4/13: Australia. Aviation Week reports that Australia may want more P-8As, at the possible expense of its MQ-4C companion UAVs:

“The RAAF is quietly making a case for 12 Poseidons, arguing that eight would not be enough to cover the vast oceans surrounding the continent. And the unmanned requirement is now described as “up to” seven high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft, potentially reducing Northrop Grumman’s opportunity. At the same time the air force sees an argument for a supplementary drone, possibly the Predator, to take on some of the electronic-intelligence missions that would otherwise fall to the Poseidons and Tritons.”

This is a bit of a head-scratcher. The stated purpose of sustained ocean coverage would be better served by adding another orbit of 3-4 MQ-4Cs (to 10-11), and using the P-8s as more of a fleet overwatch and contact response force. Likewise, it makes little sense to use a different UAV for ELINT/SIGINT collection, especially the slow and shorter-range MQ-9. Rather, one would use the MQ-9s in nearer-shore maritime and EEZ patrols, along the lines of the 2006 Northwest Shelf experiments, in order to free up MQ-4Cs for longer-range expeditions over strategic corridors, and the ELINT/SIGINT mission to which they are so well suited.

Feb 8/13: HAASW. ERAPSCO Inc. in Columbia City, IN receives a $7.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract modification for engineering and manufacturing development services in support of the High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare system. This is actually an Increment 2 upgrade to the new P-8A sea control aircraft. It makes drops more accurate by using a GPS-based algorithm; receives, processes, and stores in-buoy GPS data received from AN/SSQ-53, AN/SSQ-62, and AN/SSQ-101B sonobuoys; and will remotely send commands, and receive and process data from the AN/SSQ-101B’s digital datalink.

Work will be performed in DeLeon Springs, FL (52%) and Columbia City, IN (48%), and is expected to be complete in May 2014. $890,000 in FY 2013 Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation, Navy contract funds are committed immediately. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, MD manages this contract (N00421-11-D-0029). See also Military Aerospace.

Feb 4/13: #6 delivered. Boeing delivers the 6th production P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the US Navy, successfully completing the first group of LRIP aircraft from the January 2011 contract. Recall, too, that 6 ready-to deploy aircraft is the threshold for Initial Operational Capability. The Navy isn’t quite there yet.

P-8As #7-9 are undergoing mission systems installation and checkout at Boeing Field in Seattle, WA, and #7 will be delivered to the USN later this quarter. P-8As #10 and #11 are in final assembly on the 737 production line in Renton, WA. Boeing.

Jan 31/13: Support. Boeing receives a $19.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to buy additional P-8A equipment adaptors, support equipment, and technical publications.

Work will be performed in Dallas, TX (70.8%); Seattle, WA (15.7%); St. Peters, MO (10.7%); Falls Church, VA (1.2%); Chatsworth, CA (0.6%); Anaheim, CA (0.2%); El Dorado Hills, CA (0.2%); and Berwyn, PA (0.2%); Camden, NJ (0.2%); and New York, NY (0.2%); and is expected to be complete in April 2015. All contract funds are committed immediately from the FY 2011 “2011 Aircraft Procurement, Navy” budget line, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/13 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Dec 20/12: Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $7.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for P-8A training system program and configuration management, engineering, and quality assurance. This modification will bring the hardware platforms of the Weapons Tactics Trainer (WTT) and Operational Flight Trainer (OFT) up to the LRIP Lot 1 Block 8 configuration, so it keeps up with the planes themselves.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be completed in June 2014. All contract funds are committed immediately, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30/13 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Dec 17/12: Upgrades. Boeing in Seattle, WA received a $16.1 million cost-plus-award-fee contract modification, covering required engineering and labor to change the cooling medium in the existing P-8A Liquid Air Palletized System (LAPS) from polyalphaolefin, to ethylene glycol and water. They want to ensure compatibility between the LAPS and the Special Mission Cabin Equipment. Once development is done, Boeing will manufacture 3 P-8A conversion A-Kits, for use on the initial aircraft.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (81.6%); Huntsville, AL (8.8%); Mesa AZ (7.6%); and St. Louis, MO (2.0%) and is expected to be complete in December 2014. $14 million is committed immediately, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30/12 (N00019-04-C-3146).

Dec 11/12: R&D. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $175.5 million cost-plus-award-fee contract modification for engineering, integration, and test work on P-8A changes and upgrades. The work will cover its weapons management, acoustics, and communication subsystems.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (43.3%); Huntington Beach, CA (22.4%); St. Louis, MO (24%); and Baltimore, MD (10.3%). $31.6 million are committed immediately, with the rest available until December 2015 (N00019-04-C-3146).

Dec 4/12: Training. Under a new 5-year, $56 million contract, Boeing will maintain U.S. Navy aircrew training devices for the P-8A, its P-3C predecessor, EP-3 Aries electronic eavesdropping planes, EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, and older SH-60B Seahawk helicopters.

Mark McGraw, Boeing’s VP for Training Systems and Government Services, says the firm is looking to offer these services internationally. It’s a somewhat natural extension for its own products, like the EA-18G. It’s less natural for Lockheed Martin’s P-3s, Northrop Grumman’s EA-6s, and Sikorsky’s SH-60s.

The training devices are located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, FL; Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, HI; NAS Whidbey Island, WA; and Kadena Air Base, Japan. Boeing will deliver P-8A training systems to NAS Jacksonville in 2013, and other sites will follow with trainers and all support functions. Boeing.

Nov 26/12: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA received a $26.3 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to continue developing the P-8A’s maintenance training curriculum. Materials will include computer-aided instruction for use in a classroom setting, interactive courseware for self-paced in-service training, and practical exercises to be used on various maintenance training devices. This seems like minor stuff, but if it’s done poorly, a multi-billion dollar fleet will suffer from lower readiness rates. Which turns out to be very expensive.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in June 2015. All contract funds are committed immediately, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Nov 14/12: Basing. US Fleet Forces Command announces that they’re considering a number of basing plans for the P-8A, under supplemental environmental impact analyses. Of the 4 plans under consideration, 2 would base just 2 P-8s in Hawaii, instead of having 18 aircraft in 3 squadrons to offer good coverage of the Pacific theater.

The main plan is listed above: 42 planes in NAS Jacksonville, FL; 24 in Whidbey Island, WA; 18 in MCB Hawaii Kaneohe Bay; and 8 unallocated.

“Alternative 2″ would put 47 planes in NAS Jacksonville, FL; 49 in Whidbey Island, WA; and 2 in MCB Hawaii Kaneohe Bay.

“Alternative 5″ would put 47 planes in NAS Jacksonville, FL; 28 in Whidbey Island, WA; and 18 in MCB Hawaii Kaneohe Bay.

“Alternative 7″ would put 54 planes in NAS Jacksonville, FL; 42 in Whidbey Island, WA; and 2 in MCB Hawaii Kaneohe Bay.

Alternatives 2 and 7 would damage the US Navy’s much-hyped “Pacific Pivot,” by having fewer aircraft in good position to offer coverage. Forward basing in Guam and with allies like Japan and Australia may help, but it’s more effective to do that and to base planes in Hawaii. Given the importance of aerial surveillance to anti-submarine warfare, one may also legitimately wonder if just 2 P-8As in Hawaii leaves Pearl Harbor insufficiently defended. The US Navy has often had a problem backing up its proclamations with actual platforms, but this one offers particular cause for scrutiny. Navy EIS site | Pacific Business News.

Oct 18/12: ESM. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives an $8.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order issued under basic ordering agreement to update the P-8A’s ESM sensor’s digital measurement unit “to overcome obsolescence issues”.

Work will be performed in Linthicum, MD (86%), and Seattle, WA (14%), and is expected to be complete in April 2015. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-11-G-0001).

Oct 4/12: ESM. Northrop Grumman’s P-8A Electronic Support Measures (ESM) system is officially designated AN/ALQ-240v1. ESM systems use adaptive tuning, precise direction finding and geolocation to detect, identify, and target radars and other electronic threats to the aircraft and Navy vessels.

Northrop Grumman also provides the P-8A platform’s EWSP (early warning self-protection system). ESM isn’t part of that system, but it is complementary. NGC.

Oct 3/12: P-8 AGS advocacy. The Lexington Institute releases a report that recommends replacing all 73 of the USAF’s C-135/ Boeing 707 derived special mission aircraft with 737 derivatives. The E-8C JSTARS fleet of 16 operational planes would be swapped out for a derivative of the P-8A – basically, Boeing’s P-8 AGS concept. Overall, 73 planes would be replaced with 60 aircraft with higher mission-readiness rates, lower operating costs, and the ability to use existing global maintenance networks. It’s a bit of a turnaround for Lexington, who had strongly supported JSTARS re-engining and refurbishment before. Excerpts:

“The Air Force is currently spending so much money to keep its recon planes operational that it may be feasible to develop and field replacements based on commercial derivatives at little additional cost if it can retire aging 707s and C-135s quickly… The cumulative savings of substituting 737s for existing planes would total $100 billion across the life-cycle of the fleet, with annual savings likely to exceed $3 billion once the new planes were fully fielded. Most importantly, the 737 replacement program can be implemented within projected budgets for the ISR fleet… In the process it can eliminate 4,000 support billets and save over 80 million gallons of jet fuel each year, freeing up funding for activities where it can be applied more productively.”

See release | report [PDF].

P-8 drops Mk54
(click to view full)

Sept 27/12: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $13.2 million firm-fixed-price contract modification buys spare parts in support of 10 P-8A operational flight trainers (OFTs), 7 weapons tactics trainers, 3 part task trainers, the training systems support center, and 15 electronic classrooms. Boeing will also buy Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 classified parts; manage spare parts and delivery; coordinate orders, quotes, and receive process; support inventory inspection processes; and deliver the spares. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in June 2014 (N00019-09-C-0022)

Sept 26/12: Spares. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $34.6 million firm-fixed-price modification to a fixed-price-incentive-fee contract, buying additional spares for the 11 LRIP Lot 3 P-8A aircraft.

Work will be performed in Dallas, TX (59%); Greenlawn, N.Y. (13%); Amityville, N.Y. (8%); Seattle, Wash. (7%); Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (6%); Anaheim, CA (4%); Irvine, CA (2%); and El Paso, TX (1%); and is expected to be complete in September 2015 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Sept 26/12: Support. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives an $18.9 million fixed-price-incentive-firm contract modification for equipment maintenance, site activation, and other support of Low Rate Initial Production P-8As. Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (57%); Jacksonville, FL (38%); and Kadena, Japan (5%), and is expected to be complete in November 2013 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Sept 25/12: Part obsolescence. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $15.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order to fix obsolescence issues. They’ll need to replace and integrate suitable hardware and software components in the P-8A’s Multi-Purpose Control Display Unit and Tactical Control Panel that have gone obsolete because those parts aren’t manufactured any more, and the Navy doesn’t have enough inventory to ignore that.

Work will be performed in Grand Rapids, MI (84%), and Seattle, WA (16%); and is expected to be complete in September 2014. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-11-G-0001).

Aug 31/12: FRP-1 lead in. A $244.9 million advance acquisition contract to begin buying long-lead materials for 13 P-8As, with firm-fixed-price line items. That means it’s for the FY 2013 order (LRIP-4? FRP-1?).

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.8%); Greenlawn, NY (11.7%); Baltimore, MD (11.0%); North Amityville, NY (8.2%); and McKinney, TX (5.3%); and is expected to be complete in April 2016. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR6.302-1 (N00019-12-C-0112).

Aug 28/12: Too big? Boeing is starting to look at options beyond its P-8A, because their customers are saying that they don’t need its full versatility, and find its $200 million price tag prohibitive. Bombardier’s Challenger 600 seems to be the target platform, and the resulting plane would probably sacrifice weapon carrying capability in order to be a specialty surveillance plane.

Boeing aren’t the only ones working on this, of course. Established competitors include EADS’ CN-235 Persuader, C-295 MPA, ATR-42 MP, and ATR-72 ASW turboprops; and Embraer’s P-99 MP jet. Saab has options are in development based on the Saab 2000 regional turboprop and Piaggio P-180 executive turboprop, and Russia has a unique offering in development based on its Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft. There is also some talk in Britain of adding maritime patrol capabilities to its Sentinel R1 ground surveillance jets, based on Bombardier’s Challenger.

Among American manufacturers, Lockheed Martin is working on an SC-130J Sea Hercules modification, and the firm says they expect to sign at least one contract “in North Africa.” It’s designed as a $150 million alternative, to be developed in 3 stages. Stage 1 will involve roll-on/ bolt-on radar and electro-optical sensors, and accompanying processing workstations. Stage 2 would add wing-mounted, anti-surface weapons, along with upgraded workstations and weapon control systems. Stage 3 would be a full anti-submarine conversion, including sonobuoys, a magnetic anomaly detector boom, extra fuel pods, and 2 added bays for 6 Harpoon missiles. Defense News.

July 24/12: LRIP-3 lead in. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $107.1 million fixed-price-incentive-firm contract modification to provide additional funding for LRIP-3′s long-lead time materials That means items that need to be in the factory early, so that LRIP Lot 3′s 11 planes can be assembled and delivered on time. See also March 26/12 and Sept 8/11 entries – this brings LRIP-3 long-lead orders to $304 million.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.8%); Greenlawn, NY (11.7%); Baltimore, MD (11%); North Amityville, NY (8.2%); and McKinney, TX (5.3%). Work is expected to be complete in May 2015 (N00019-09-C-0022).

July 24/12: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $28.2 million fixed-price-incentive-firm contract for 22 flight management system trainers; 44 mission systems desktop trainers; 2 desktop training environments; updates to the P-8A Air Combat Training Continuum courseware; and all associated spares, support, and tools.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (48.2%); St. Louis, MO (35.8%); Jacksonville, FL (10.9%); Bloomington, IL (3.2%); Anaheim, CA (0.8%); Dallas, TX (0.8%); and Wichita, KS (0.3%). Work is expected to be completed in June 2014. $25.5 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00019-09-C-0022).

July 24/12: Australian sub-contractors. Boeing announces a very minor set of contracts ($1.85 million) to Australian companies Lovitt Technologies Australia and Ferra Engineering, to manufacture parts and assemblies for the P-8A.

Lovitt Technologies in Melbourne already supplies parts for the V-22 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and will add mission systems parts and assembly fabrications for the P-8. Ferra Engineering in Brisbane also supplies Super Hornet parts, as well as spares for Boeing’s commercial jets. They’ll add P-8 internal and external airframe parts and assemblies to their roster.

Boeing has a number of programs of interest in Australia, including F/A-18AM/BM Hornet upgrades, new F/A-18F Super Hornets, the E-737 Wedgetail airborne early warning plane, and an expected P-8 buy (vid. May 6/09 entry). Boeing’s Office of Australian Industry Capability (OAIC) works with the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation’s Global Supply Chain Program, to identify and train industrial partners. Over the past 4 years, Boeing says they’ve awarded US$ 230 million in contracts to Australian firms.

July 17/12: #2 delivered. Boeing delivers the 2nd production P-8A to US Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL for aircrew training.

Meanwhile, 3 more P-8As are undergoing mission systems installation and checkout in Seattle, WA, and 3 are in final assembly in Renton, WA. That covers 8 of the 13 low-rate initial production aircraft ordered so far. The 6 flight-test and 2 ground-test P-8As ordered under the development contract are already delivered, and they’ve completed more than 600 sorties and 2,800 flight hours, mostly at NAS Patuxent River, MD. Boeing.

July 18/12: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives an $11.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for the Block 9.2 software upgrade of the Operational Flight Trainer, the Weapons Tactics Trainer, and the Part Task Trainer in support LRIP Lot 1. This modification also includes the procurement of a Mission System Desktop Trainer. Bottom line: the trainers must have the same software and capabilities as the flying aircraft.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (85%), Seattle, WA (12%), and Anaheim, CA (3%), and is expected to be complete in May 2013. $9.9 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year,on Sept 30/12 (N00019-09-C-0022).

July 7/12: P-8i. India’s first P-8i begins flight-testing in Seattle, and all test objectives are met in its initial flight. Boeing test pilots will continue the process at a US Navy test range west of Neah Bay, WA, and at a joint U.S./Canadian test range in the Strait of Georgia. They believe that they are on track to deliver the 1st P-8i to the Indian Navy in 2013. Boeing.

May 12/11: No P-8 JSTARS? Gannett’s Air Force Times reports that that the USAF will hang on to the battlefield surveillance mission, even though it won’t be upgrading its E-8C JSTARS planes. The real story is that the USAF’s F-35, Next-Generation Bomber, and KC-46A aerial tanker projects are sucking all of the budgetary oxygen out of the room. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz:

“I think that [Chief of Naval Operations Adm.] Jon Greenert would tell you that he can’t do both the maritime P-8 mission and the entire GMTI [Ground Moving Target Indicator] overland mission… Based on the analysis of alternatives, the more attractive option is a business-class aircraft with cheek sensors that operates at 40,000-foot plus and at much less of a flying-hour cost… That’s probably the right solution set, but we don’t have the [budgetary] space to pursue it right now.”

A Navy official emphasized that the P-8A’s primary focus is anti-submarine warfare, followed by surveillance in maritime areas. They see overland ISR as a tertiary mission, just as it has been for the P-3C. The long-term question is whether force structure trends will force a change in thinking, if the P-8A becomes the most capable option available. The performance and availability of the USAF’s RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 fleet is likely to be the determining factor.

May 11/12: Increment II R&D. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $13.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order modification for P-8A Increment II risk reduction activities. This effort includes acoustic processor technology refresh work, multi-static active coherent Phase I capability, Automatic Identification System prototype development, and high altitude anti-submarine warfare sensor capability. As one might guess, Increment II is the next evolution of the design for the fleet, to be built into new aircraft and retrofitted into delivered planes.

Work will be performed in Anaheim, CA (70%), and Seattle, WA (30%), and is expected to be complete in January 2013 (N00019-05-G-0026).

March 26/12: LRIP-3 long lead. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $30.1 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, buying additional long lead time materials for the FY 2012 Low Rate Initial Production III lot of 11 planes.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.8%); Greenlawn, NY (11.7%); Baltimore, MD (11.0%); North Amityville, NY (8.2%); and McKinney, TX (5.3%); and is expected to be complete in May 2015 (N00019-09-C-0022).

March 23/12: Boeing VP and P-8 program manager Chuck Dabundo says that the P-8A is expected to be ready for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOTE) from June – August 2012. He adds that: “The P-8A full-flight envelope should be cleared to conduct… realistic missions and maneuvering flight profiles during the IOT&E,” addressing one of the concerns from the 2011 DOT&E report (vid. Jan 17/12).

Meanwhile, the 1st operational flight and weapons tactics trainers are completing their set-up in the P-8A Integrated Training Center at NAS Jacksonville, FL. The other LRIP-1 plane is undergoing mission systems installation, with a hand-over to the Navy expected in mid-year. Aviation Week.

March 19/12: Sub-contractors. ITT Exelis touts its compressed air weapon ejection release technology, which successfully launched an MK 54 torpedo from P-8A test aircraft T-3′s weapon bay (vid. Oct 31/11). Many launch systems still use electrically-triggered explosive cartridges for launch separation, which has higher purchase and maintenance costs over time.

ITT was awarded the initial system design and development contract in August 2005, and says that it has received follow-on contracts totaling more than $30 million to date. Work is being performed by the Exelis Electronic Systems division in Amityville, NY.

Feb 13/12: Budget Cuts. The Pentagon submits its FY 2013 funding request. P-8A production will continue to ramp up, to the expected 13 planes, but future buys will be lower than planned, removing 10 planes from the program over the next 4 years. It’s always possible to add them back at the end of the program, but the USA’s current fiscal straits, and long-term entitlements explosions, make that unlikely:

“Due to changing priorities within the Department and funding constraints, the Department deemed that it was a manageable risk to reduce P-8A procurement by 10 aircraft from FY 2013 – FY 2017. Savings total $5.2 billion from FY 2013 – FY 2017.”

Feb 13/12: APY-10 air-air. Raytheon announces that it has delivered the 1st AN/APY-10 International radar to Boeing, for installation in the nose of India’s 1st P-8i. They also confirm that, per rumors reported on Feb 3/10:

“To meet unique requirements for the Indian navy, Raytheon has added an air-to-air mode, which provides the detection and tracking of airborne targets, allowing customers to detect threats in the air as well as at sea. In addition, an interleaved weather and surface search capability has been added to provide the cockpit with up-to-date weather avoidance information while performing surveillance missions.”

Feb 1/12: AAS. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $227 million cost-plus-award-fee modification contract for “interim flight clearance for the P-8A aircraft in the special mission configuration,” using the T-1 and T-3 test aircraft. Later reports confirm that the special configuration involves the P-8′s AAS radar pod.

Boeing tells us that this is about military airworthiness certification, which enables operational use of an aircraft (like a 737) in a special configuration. It’s also the precursor step to full fleet flight clearance. The time and expense involved in such certifications is often overlooked by casual observers, but over the last few years, this step has held up deployment of several big-ticket defense items around the world.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (59%); Baltimore, MD (32%); and St. Louis, MO (9%), and is expected to be complete in August 2016. US Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity(N00019-04-C-3146).

Jan 17/12: DOT&E Report. The Pentagon releases the FY2011 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The P-8A is included, and currently suffers from 2 major sets of issues that need to be fixed. One is mechanical, and involves bank angle limits. The other is software defects:

“The P-8A currently has an operational flight envelope limit that precludes it from flying at a bank angle greater than 48 degrees when maneuvering. In order to fly operationally realistic tactics during anti-submarine warfare missions, the aircraft will have to fly maneuvers that require a bank angle of 53 degrees… Although 92 percent of the priority 1 [DID: can't perform mission-essential capability] and [priority] 2 [DID: impairs mission-essential capability, no onboard workaround] software problems have been closed, the current closure rate is not sufficient to have all the priority 1 and 2 software problems resolved by the start of IOT&E [Initial Operational Test & Evaluation]… There are 369 priority 1 and 2 software problems as of September 21, 2011. Software problems discovered during the later stages of the integrated testing may not be fixed in the software version that is currently planned for IOT&E, and may require additional software upgrades prior to starting IOT&E to ensure the software is production-representative.”

Jan 12/12: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $9.2 million cost-plus-fixed fee contract modification for spares, repairables, trainers, and courseware in support of FY 2011 production of P-8As under LRIP Lot 2 (vid. Nov 3/11 entry). Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (60%), and St. Louis, MO (40%), and is expected to be complete in September 2012 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Dec 19/11: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $19.8 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to buy 1 P-8A weapons tactics trainer, 9 of its 10-seat e-classrooms, and 6 of its 20-seat e-classrooms, as part of the FY 2011 LRIP Lot 2 production (vid. Nov 3/11 entry).

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (75%), and Seattle, WA (25%), and is expected to be complete in March 2014 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Dec 16/11: Training. The 1st full-motion operational flight trainer (OFT) and weapons tactics trainer (WTT) are delivered and placed in NAS Jacksonville’s P-8A Integrated Training Center. The Navy’s VP-30 Sqn. fleet introduction team (FIT) instructors worked with Boeing on the courseware, and had input into the design of the simulators.

P-8As are expected to begin shipping to patrol squadrons beginning in July 2012. US NAVAIR.

Nov 4/11: Increment II. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $10 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order to help plan Increment 2 acoustic processor technology updates for the P-8A. P-8A increment 2 is scheduled for fielding in 2016.

Work will be performed in Anaheim, CA (75%), and Seattle, WA (25%), and is expected to be complete in January 2013. $2 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (N00019-05-G-0026).

Oct 13/11: Testing. P-8A aircraft T-3 successfully launches its first MK 54 torpedo in the Atlantic Test Range, from 500 feet above water. The test verifies safe separation, with further weapon testing to come. US NAVAIR.

P-8 T1 over Cascades
(click to view full)

Sept 28/11: P-8i 1st flight. Initial flight for the P-8i, which takes off from Renton Field, WA and lands 2:31 later at Boeing Field in Seattle, WA. During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes, and took the P-8i to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. Boeing.

P-8i 1st flight

Sept 26/11: Training. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $32.8 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for 1 P-8A Operational Flight Trainer and 1 P-8A weapons tactics trainer, as part of LRIP Lot 2. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (75%), and Seattle, WA (25%), and is expected to be complete in April 2014 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Sept 23/11: LRIP-2 ancillaries. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $319.9 million fixed-price incentive-fee contract for P-8A LRIP-2 spare parts, support equipment and tools, logistics support, trainers, and courseware. LRP-2 involves 7 aircraft.

Work will be performed in McKinney, TX (35%); Hazelwood, Mo. (35%); Seattle, WA (14%); Jacksonville, FL (4%); Anaheim, CA (4%); Baltimore, MD (3%); Camden, NJ (3%); and Greenlawn, NY (2%). Work is expected to be complete in March 2014 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Sept 8/11: LRIP-3 lead-in. A $166.8 million fixed-price-incentive contract modification, funding for long lead time materials in support of LRIP Lot 3′s 11 planned P-8As.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.80%); Greenlawn, NY (11.69%); Baltimore, MD (10.98%); North Amityville, NY (8.24%) and McKinney, TX (5.29%); and is expected to be complete in May 2015 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Aug 31/11: Training. Jax Air News reports on the coming transition to the P-8A at the VP-30 Fleet Replacement training squadron. According to Commanding Officer (CO) Capt. Mark Stevens, VP-30 will teach both the P-3 and the P-8, until the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force community completes its transition to the Poseidon by 2017. Flight Instructor Trainers are completing commercial B-737 type rating school in Seattle, WA, then they train in VX-20′s 4 Poseidon test aircraft at Pax River, MD.

The first P-8A transition squadron to be trained at VP-30 will be the VP-16 ‘War Eagles’ beginning in July of 2012, as they return from deployment to face 6 months of training. VP-30 will also begin training replacement P-8 pilots, NFOs and aircrew in August of 2012, at the new P-8A Integrated Training Center (ITC), which includes classrooms, 10 full-motion operational flight trainers (OFT) for pilots, and 9 mission system trainers for aircrew – each with 5 operator stations.

Aug 19/11: Testing. P-8A T2 returns from Yuma, AZ, where hot environment ground and flight tests took place over 13 days from July 7-20/11. July temperatures at Yuma average 107F/ 42C. Now that T2 is back to Patuxent River, MD, it continues required mission systems testing to include the acoustic system, Sonobuoy Launching System, Sonobuoy Positioning System, and Electro-Optical/Infrared system. US NAVAIR | Maryland’s Bay Net.

July 25/11: LRIP-2 lead in. A $21 million fixed-price-incentive-fee contract modification adds more long lead materials funding for the 7 LRIP Lot 2 production aircraft.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.80%); Greenlawn, NY (11.69%); Baltimore, MD (10.98%); North Amityville, NY (8.24%); and McKinney, TX (5.29%). Work is expected to be complete in December 2013 (N00019-09-C-0022).

July 22/11: Testing. US NAVAIR announces that the P-8A completed the clean flutter program in June 2011, including open & closed bay doors, and began loads testing in preparation for Operational Assessment in 2012.

Flutter is described as a vibration that continuously builds in intensity; the team needed to demonstrate that the P-8A remains safe throughout its flight envelope, without weapons. Loads testing verifies that it’s safe with weapons carried.

July 21/11: 737 MAX. American Airlines, which has traditionally been a Boeing/McDonnell Douglas stronghold, splits its $40 billion fleet replacement order between Boeing and Airbus, ordering 460 planes between 2013-2022, with options for more. The new aircraft will replace older MD-80s, as well as larger Boeing 757s and 767s.

Airbus will deliver 260 A319/A320/A321s beginning in 2013, of which half will be A320neo family planes with new geared turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney (PurePower) or GE/CFM (LEAP-X), beginning in 2017. They also have 365 options with Airbus for additional aircraft. Boeing will deliver 200 737s, beginning in 2013, with options for another 100. Half of those initial 737s, and 60/100 options, will involve 737 MAX planes with LEAP-X engines, but no delivery date is set.

Those re-engined 737 MAX planes will have to be developed and certified, of course, with estimates that place them 1-3 years behind Airbus’ planned 2015 A320neo introduction. The effect is to upset Boeing’s strategy to introduce an entirely new narrowbody jet. Airline interest in the re-engined 737 seems set to delay that planned switchover, and AA’s order alone will keep the 737 in production for at least a decade. This is not good news for Boeing, but it might be good news for military customers of 737 derivatives. The thing is, they now have a choice of their own to make about their future fleets (vid. June 8/11 entry). Using a 737 MAX offers important life-cycle cost reductions, but it also involves modifications to existing designs for 737 specialty aircraft like the P-8. Someone will have to pay for that. American Airlines | Airbus | Boeing | GE/CFM | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Seattle Times | Forbes.

July 7/11: 1st P-8A flight. The first P-8A Poseidon production aircraft completes its first flight, taking off from Renton Field, WA and landing 3 hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle, WA. This is an LRIP Lot 1 plane, which now leaves final assembly and enters mission system installation and checkout in Seattle. Boeing will deliver it to the Navy next year in 2012.

This production P-8A is the first to include an improved CFM56-7BE engine with high- and low-pressure turbine modifications, that is now standard on all new 737NGs. The design also incorporates drag reduction improvements that Boeing started phasing into 737 production earlier this year, but the expected fuel savings vs. older models are only 2% or so, compared to about 15% for geared turbofan models. Boeing | CFM | Boeing re: new design.

March 9/11: Sub-contractors. BAE Systems announces a Low Rate Initial Production contract from Boeing to provide 6 ruggedized P-8A mission computer systems. No cost figures are released.

March 7/11: Sub-contractors. Spirit AeroSystems delivers the 1st LRIP production P-8A fuselage to Boeing via rail car, whereupon Boeing workers begin final assembly by loading it into a tooling fixture and installing systems, wires and other small parts.

The Poseidon team is using a first-in-industry in-line production process that draws on Boeing’s civilian Next-Generation 737 production system, by making all P-8A military modifications in sequence during fabrication and assembly. The pervasive approach to this point has involved producing a civilian plane, then flying it to another plant for “militarization” work. Boeing.

Feb 2/11: APY-10. Raytheon announces a low rate initial production contract from Boeing to deliver 6 AN/APY-10 radars plus spares as part of LRIP Lot 1 production.

Jan 7/11: Testing. Boeing completes full-scale static testing of the P-8A Poseidon’s airframe, after ground test plane S1 undergoes 154 different tests, with no failure of the primary structure. During 74 of the tests, the airframe was subjected to 150% of the highest expected flight loads.

In September 2011, the Boeing P-8A team will begin refurbishing the S1 plane to prepare it for live-fire testing at Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, CA. Boeing will begin fatigue tests on its second ground-test vehicle, S2, later in 2011. Boeing.

Oct 15/10: Testing. NAVAIR’s P-8A test aircraft launches sonobuoys for the first time, as part of P-8 weapons testing. A total of 6 sonobuoys were involved in 3 low altitude launches at the Atlantic Test Range, using the P-8′s rotary launch system.

That system uses 3 three launchers with the capacity to hold 10 sonobuoys each, and it can launch single or multiple shots. The aircraft’s overall sonobuoy storage capacity is 120, fully 50% percent greater than the P-3′s capacity of 80. US NAVAIR.

Oct 4/10: India. India’s navy wants to grow its P-8i fleet to 12 planes, by exercising a $1 billion option for 4 more. Indian sources are telling the media that the prices and offset agreements would be the same as the original $2.1 billion contract for 8 aircraft. The decision follows a recent visit by Indian defense minister Antony and Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma. The proposal will now be sent to India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval, and other steps also remain on the to do list. The Times of India:

“P-8Is are being customised to Indian naval requirements, with communication, electronic warfare and other systems being sourced from India. For instance, defence PSU Bharat Electronics is delivering Data Link-II, a communication system to enable rapid exchange of information among Indian warships, submarines aircraft and shore establishments, for the P-8Is to Boeing. There is, however, the question of India having not yet inked the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) being pushed by the US as ”a sensitive technology-enabler” for P-8I and other arms procurements.”

See: India Defence | Times of India | Zee News | China’s Xinhua.

E-8C JSTARS
(click to view full)

Sept 13/10: P-8 AGS? The battle over the E-8 JSTARS fleet’s future is heating up. Boeing is proposing a derivative of its P-8A Poseidon sea control aircraft as a proposed $5.5 billion, 1-for-1 replacement of the current E-8C fleet, instead of paying that estimated amount to upgrade the E-8Cs with new cockpits, sensors, and engines. The Boeing AGS version would include the Raytheon-Boeing Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS), Raytheon’s AN/APY-10 multi-mode radar in the nose, some the same Electronic Support Measures for emissions geo-location that are featured on the E/A?18G Growler electronic attack lane, and an electro-optical surveillance and targeting turret. A P-8 derivative would also give the USAF space and integration for weapons on board, or additional sensors in those spaces.

Northrop Grumman believes the Boeing figure may be a lowball price, and has its own proposal to add 1′ x 8′ array radars on the plane’s cheeks, derived from the firm’s APG-77 and APG-81 AESA radars that equip the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. Today, J-Stars operations have to “break track” with a target to collect an image. The cheek fairings would solve that problem, while keeping the existing AN/APY-7, in order to lower the upgrade price to around $2.7 billion: $900M re-engining, $500M new APY-7 receiver and exciters, $1 billion for the cheek array, $300M for avionics upgrade and battle management improvements. This would replace the previous push to replace the APY-7 with their MP-RTIP radar.

Northrop Grumman executives have expressed concern that USAF officials have not showed them the 2009 initial capabilities document that could launch a competition to replace or upgrade the E-8C, something that’s common practice, even though it isn’t a required step. That may be because the USAF is considering even wider options – like putting the focus on “persistent ground looking radar and optical surveillance with high resolution moving target capability,” instead of an E-8C vs. 737 AGS competition. If so, the firms could find themselves competing with other platforms, possibly including derivatives of airship projects like the US Army’s LEMV and others. Aviation Week | Flight International.

Sept 8/10: LRIP-2 lead-in. A $136.6 million contract modification for long-lead materials in support of P-8A LRIP (low-rate initial production) Lot 2 aircraft.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (63.8%); Greenlawn, NY (11.7%); Baltimore, MD (10.9%); North Amityville, NY (8.3%); and McKinney, TX (5.3%), and is expected to be complete in December 2013 (N00019-09-C-0022).

Sept 8/10: Sub-contractors. India’s Economic Times reports that Maini Global Aerospace (MGA) has bagged an outsourcing contract worth up to $10 million to make structural components for the extended range fuel cells of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime (MMR) aircraft. These components would be common to the P-8A and P-8i.

July 29/10: Testing. Boeing’s T3 test aircraft successfully completes its first flight test, which is focused on aerodynamics and safety. T3 is the P-8A program’s mission-system and weapon-certification aircraft. T3 will soon fly to join the other 2 test aircraft at NAS Patuxent River, MD. Boeing.

June 2010: BAE Systems completes the mission computer system qualification testing, and flies aboard the program’s 1st mission systems test flight in Seattle. Source.

April 10/10: US Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-20′s first P-8A Poseidon test aircraft arrives at NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD facilities. Capt. Mike Moran, Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft program manager (PMA-290), said that the program continues to meet all performance criteria and is on track for initial operational capability in 2013.

The Poseidon Integrated Test Team includes Navy test squadrons VX-20 and VX-1, and Boeing; they will use this “T1″ aircraft to evaluate the P-8A’s airworthiness and expand its flight envelope. When the production-configured T2 and T3 arrive later in 2010, they will be used for extensive mission systems and weapons system testing. US NAVAIR release | YouTube video.

March 24/10: Just shoot me, redux. Need to speed up testing? Want to shoot a plane full of holes? Fly Southwest! Engineers at NAWCWD’s Weapons Survivability Laboratory (WSL) spent just $200,000 to add a cast-off 737 from Southwest Airlines to the P-8A Poseidon Live-Fire Test and Evaluation (LFTE) Program. NAWCAD WSL vulnerability engineer Paul Gorish found the plane while shopping for individual parts. It came complete with in-flight magazines; and after arriving at China Lake, CA, the engines, auxiliary power unit, avionics and windshield were the only things removed.

LFTE tests involve shooting various sections of the plane with different anti-aircraft rounds that it might encounter in theater, then assessing the damage and using that data to improve the aircraft’s survivability. The first LFTE test will look at how the hydraulics in the tail portion of the aircraft react when hit with a threat. Another test will evaluate how the oxygen bottles will react to a ballistic impact in a fully pressurized cabin.

The original plan called for the ground-test aircraft (S1) to arrive in 2012. Now they can offload some of the tests planned for S1 onto this 737, beginning in summer 2010, and complete all tests within the tight schedule. It’s also expected that Southwest’s former jet will become a source of parts to build-up the incomplete test-plane S1 into a more representative P-8A surrogate. US NAVAIR release.

Feb 4/10: Testing. Boeing successfully completes weapons ground vibration testing on P-8A Poseidon test aircraft T1, after loading 18 different weapons configurations onto the test aircraft over a 1 month period. For each set, external shakers induce vibration of the aircraft’s wings, stabilizer and stores to verify the plane’s structural integrity and reactions, using with more than 100 accelerometers and other external devices.

The effort comes before full flight testing at Pax River, MD, and follows May 2009 ground vibration tests without weapons. Boeing release.

Feb 3/10: India. Flight International reports that Boeing plans to put an additional Raytheon radar on the aft section of India’s P-8is, and is exploring an air-to-air mode for the APY-10. India wanted air-to-air capability and a 360 degree radar, and the AN/APY-10 provides only 240 degree coverage from the P-8′s nose section.

Feb 3/10: Self-inflicted delay. Flight International reports that the US Navy is facing a self-inflicted 6-month program delay. The ferry light to Patuxent River, MD was scheduled for September 2009, but the trip had been delayed to Q1 2010. The first 2 P-8As are in Seattle doing flight tests, and could perform all testing there, but the US Navy wants all testing done at NAVAIR’s east coast facility. Unfortunately, the Navy doesn’t have its designated facility ready to receive the P-8, hence the 6-month delay.

Feb 2/10: FY 2011 budget. The Pentagon releases its FY 2011 budget request, containing $2.92 billion for the P-8A program. That request includes $1.99 billion for 7 more P-8 aircraft, advance procurement for 9 FY 2012 aircraft, plus $929.2 million for Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation. The Pentagon adds that “aircraft procurements are tightly coupled to the P-3 retirement rates.”

Feb 2/10: Sub-contractors. Herley Industries, Inc. of in Lancaster, PA announces a $1.5 million sub-contract for integrated microwave assemblies, to be used in the U.S. Navy’s P-8A aircraft. This is Herley’s first production award under the P-8A program, as opposed to system design & development contracts.

Jan 29/10: Studies. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $16.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026). They will conduct studies and analyses for the acoustic processor technology refresh, and capability analysis planning for the P-8A. In an era where more and more countries are fielding quiet, advanced submarines, and electronics become obsolete every 4-5 years, this kind of ongoing work is necessary.

Work will be performed in Anaheim, CA (83%), and Seattle, WA (17%), and is expected to be complete in July 2011.

Dec 4/09: IOT&E. Boeing in Seattle, WA received a $12.5 million not-to-exceed modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-04-C-3146) in support of the P-8A initial operation test and evaluation (IOT&E). Specific efforts include the modification of courseware and training devices and transition, and integration of organic maintenance.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (60%), and Seattle, WA (40%), and is expected to be complete in January 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $1 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

November 2009: APY-10. A Boeing and Raytheon worker formally finish installation of the APY-10 radar in the nose of P-8A test plane T2. T2 is the P-8A program’s primary mission system testbed, and it will enter the U.S. Navy’s flight test program in early 2010, after a follow-on phase of radar installation and additional instrumentation. During flight tests, US Navy and Boeing pilots will verify the performance of all aircraft sensors, including the APY-10. Boeing release.

Oct 24/09: Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi newspaper The National reports that Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying 6 of Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, in a deal worth a reported $1.3 billion (about 4.8 billion riyals). The National says the lanes would be part of a larger $20 billion naval modernization:

“They took the steps to say to the US Navy that they are interested,” Ray Figueras, the director of strategic development for the P-8 Poseidon at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), said of the Saudi Royal Navy. “We’ve been told there is a need for six.”…Details of the naval overhaul were announced last December when US defence officials said Saudi Arabia wanted to buy the P-8 along with the H-60R Seahawk multimission helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft, unmanned Fire Scout helicopters built by Northrop Grumman, and smaller combat ships… The [P-8] aircraft are said to cost $220 million each…”

Saudi Arabia has long coastlines of shallow seas, and a special interest in protecting the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian/Persian Gulf. Its own topography lends itself well to larger fleets of smaller maritime patrol aircraft, but extending operations out to deal with threats like pirates near Yemen and Somalia would require a long-range aircraft. As always in the Gulf, corporate and political relationships also play a strong role in national choices.

Oct 15/09: Testing. The first US Navy test pilot flies a P-8A, alongside a Boeing test pilot. Initial test flights have centered around Boeing’s Seattle facilities, but the P-8A will move to Patuxent River, MD, in early 2010 for more advanced tests. The Integrated Test Team will include personnel from the Navy’s VX-1 and VX-20 squadrons, and from Boeing. They will spend the next 36 months flying and evaluating 3 aircraft, designated T1, T2 and T3. NAVAIR’s release quotes Lt. Roger Stanton:

“For the baseline P-8, it certainly flies like a 737… The interesting flying for the P-8 really will come when we have to emulate the P-3 mission – high bank angle, low altitude, autopilot integrated into our mission with missiles on the wings. It will get interesting.”

P-8A Rollout
(click to view full)

Sept 4/09: DCK cut off. The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. in Baltimore, MD receives a $37.4 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and build a P-8A Operational Training Facility at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The facility will include space for 10 operational flight trainers (OFT), bridge cranes over the OFT devices, 8 weapons tactics trainers, and 4 part task trainers; plus support equipment, computer based training stations, internal and external network communication equipment, training media storage, maintenance support shops, administrative offices, student study rooms, briefing areas, communications closets, and secure compartmented information facilities. The contract also contains an option, which would increase the contract’s value to $37.95 million if exercised. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, FL, and is expected to be complete by June 2011.

If this sounds familiar, it should. The July 2/09 entry describes a similar award to DCK North America. On July 13/09, however, Balfour Beatty Construction files a bid protest with the GAO protesting the US Navy’s award to DCK on multiple grounds. The government review of the protest led them to terminate DCK’s award, and re-evaluate the bids; that removed the basis of the protest, and led to its formal dismissal on Aug 5/09. The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company won the re-evaluation, and the contract previously awarded to DCK will be Terminated for Convenience.

This contract was competitively negotiated via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 21 proposals received in Phase One and, 7 Phase One offerors selected to proceed to Phase Two. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast in Jacksonville, FL will manage this new contract (N69450-09-C-1291).

Aug 27/09: AAS. Boeing in Seattle, WA receives a $25 million not-to-exceed modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-04-C-3146). Work will be performed in Seattle, WA and is expected to be complete in February 2010.

The award updates Annex B of the P-8A system specification to include additional requirements associated with the Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS)/P-8A interface requirement specification (IRS). The IRS refines requirements for the integration of the AAS maritime and littoral intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance radar, and the associated special mission cabin equipment on P-8 aircraft.

July 31/09: AAS/ LSRS. Raytheon announces a multi-year contract authorizing development of the Advanced Airborne Sensor, the follow-on to the canoe-shaped Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS) that equips the most advanced P-3Cs.

As the sensor prime contractor, Raytheon will oversee development, production and installation of the AAS on the P-8A. Raytheon will work closely with its associate prime contractor, Boeing, for engineering, aircraft modifications, integration and flight test.

July 2/09: Infrastructure. DCK North America, LLC in Large, PA wins a $37.9 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and build an Operational Training Facility for P-8A aircraft at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL. The facility will include space for 10 Operational Flight Trainers (OFT), 8 Weapons Tactics Trainers, 4 Part Task Trainers, support equipment, bridge cranes over the OFTs, computer based training stations, internal and external network communication equipment, training media storage, maintenance support shops, administrative offices, student study rooms, briefing areas, communications closets, and Secure Compartmented Information Facilities.

Work will be performed in Jacksonville, FL, and is expected to be complete by June 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 21 proposals received in Phase I and 7 Phase I offerors selected to proceed to Phase II. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast in Jacksonville, FL manages this contract (N69450-09-C-1257).

The award is subsequently overturned, following a GAO protest and re-compete.

June-July 2009: The US Navy reviews its future needs and decides that the P-8A program needs to grow to 117 operational aircraft, instead of 108.

May 5/09: Boeing rolls P-8 model T-2 out of the paint hangar at its Renton, WA, facility, displaying its U.S. Navy colors. T-2 is actually the 3rd of 5 test aircraft. Aircraft T-1 will be painted in the same gray paint scheme later this summer. Photo release.

May 2/09: Australia. Australia’s Defence White Paper reiterates its interest in 8 long-range maritime patrol aircraft, as part of an A$ 5 billion “AIR 7000, Phase 2″ program. Boeing’s P-8A will be that aircraft, unless something goes very wrong on the path to a final contract.

P-8 #T-1
(click to view full)

April 25/09: 1st flight. Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon test aircraft #T-1 successfully completes its 1st flight, spending 3:31 in the air and reaching a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet. Prior to takeoff, the P-8A team completed a limited series of flight checks, including engine starts and shutdowns. During the flight, test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations, autopilot flight modes, and auxiliary power unit shutdowns and starts.

After Boeing paints the aircraft, installs more test instrumentation, and conducts further ground tests, the integrated Navy/Boeing team will begin formal flight testing of the P-8A during Q3 2009. Boeing release.

1st flight

April 13/09: LRIP-2 lead-in. Boeing in Seattle, WA received a $109.1 million advance acquisition contract to buy long lead-time materials in support of the P-8A’s low rate initial production (LRIP) Lot I orders, and reserve production line slots in support of P-8A LRIP Lot II.

Work will be performed in Seattle, WA (87%) and Baltimore, MD (13%), and is expected to be complete in December 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR(Federal Acquisition Regulations clause) 6.302-1 (N00019-09-C-0022).

March 12/09: India. In a notice to the US Congress, the State Department has said that it will license the direct commercial sale of P-8i aircraft to India, having factored in “political, military, economic, human rights and arms control considerations.” India’s domain-b.

A DCS buy doesn’t use a US military office as its agent, and is not subject to the same public notice provisions as a Foreign Military Sale buy. Even so, there are still some legal hurdles and agreements that must be present before a DCS item can be delivered to the customer.

Feb 11/09: India & EUMs. Reports surface that standard American provisions around “End Use Monitoring”, and information sharing restrictions that accompany American defense exports, are beginning to become a problem for the P-8i sale. Read “An EUM Bellwether? India/US Arms Deals Facing Crunch Over Conditions.”

Feb 2/09: Indian partners. The Wall Street Journal’s LiveMint reports that Boeing will buy aerospace structures and aviation electronics products worth at least INR 29.41 billion (about $600 million) from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Dynamatic Technologies Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), Wipro Ltd, and simulator-maker CAE’s subsidiary Macmet Technologies Ltd.

Wipro, HCL, L&T and HAL declined to comment, but a Dynamatics, executive confirmed that the firm had been chosen as a vendor. A BEL executive said the firm had entered into an agreement with Boeing for communication equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems and contract manufacturing, but a contract was yet to be signed. Swati Rangachari, a spokeswoman for Boeing in India:

“Our team is working on the offset strategy and will be in touch with industry partners in a while… We will concentrate in the areas of avionics (aviation electronics) and aerostructures.”

Meanwhile, Flight International takes a deeper look at India’s nascent private aerospace industry, and its challenges, in “Can India’s aerospace manufacturers step up?”

Jan 2/09: Basing. The US Navy formally announces its basing plans. the plan involves 13 squadrons: 1 “fleet replacement” (training) squadron and 5 operational squadrons at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, FL; 4 fleet squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island, WA; and 3 fleet squadrons at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, with periodic squadron detachment operations at NAS North Island. Introduction of the P-8A MMA squadrons is projected to begin no later than 2012, and is expected be complete by 2019.

This decision implements the preferred “alternative 5″ identified in the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Introduction of the P-8A Multi-Mission Aircraft into the U.S. Navy Fleet (q.v. Nov 20/08 entry). US Navy.

P-8i concept
(click to view full)

Dec 5/08: India contract. The Indian government announces that it has signed a $2.1 billion deal with Boeing for 8 maritime patrol aircraft in “P-8i” configuration. The $2.1 billion figure is the commonly reported total at the moment; DID cautions readers that exact dollar figures for Indian contracts often take some time to clarify. The contract reportedly includes lifetime maintenance support, and an option for another 8 aircraft. Indian Navy spokesman Commander Nirad Sinha:

“Though we have signed a deal, final clearance is still required from a U.S. authority… The first plane delivery is four years from the final contract signing, so I think it should come in 2013.”

Firm industrial agreements in India and decisions regarding indigenous Indian technologies for the P-8i are expected to follow, and Boeing’s release commits to delivering the 8th aircraft by 2015.

This order makes India the P-8 program’s lead export customer, and 2nd international participant. Australia has joined the program and given the P-8A what’s known as “first pass approval,” but any contract must wait for second pass approval from the government. See: Boeing | India Defence | CNN Money.

8 for India

Dec 29/08: India. The P-8I deal for India appears to be moving closer. India Defence reports that “virtually all the steps” required for the contract to be signed, including tabling of it in the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval, are complete. Reports place the deal at Rs 8,500 crore (about $1.7 billion) for 8 jets, with first delivery coming within 4 years and all deliveries by 2015. India currently flies 8 Tu-142s. India Defence | StrategyPage.

Dec 22/08: Bloomberg News reports that an Oct 31/08 budget memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England approved shifting away as much as $940 million from the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft program, in order to complete payment for the 3rd DDG-1000 destroyer that Congress partially funded in FY 2009. The Navy proposed getting 2 aircraft instead of 6 in the initial production phases.

Meanwhile, the US Navy faces significant challenges keeping the existing fleet of P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft in the air. Almost 1/4 of this aging fleet has been grounded due to safety concerns, and the Navy is forced to retire some aircraft every year. Even though they are in greater demand than ever over key sea lanes, and in overland surveillance roles on the front lines. Early introduction of the P-8A has been touted as critical to maintaining these capabilities, and avoiding both near-term and long-term shortfalls.

Nov 20/08: Basing. The US Navy releases environmental impact statements (EIS), and prepares to go ahead with its initial basing plan for the P-8A fleet. Under a “preferred” basing plan, 84 Poseidons would replace 120 of the older P-3C Orions. Their deployment would involve: 5 squadrons of 6 planes each at at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL (30); another 4 squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island, WA (24); and 3 squadrons in Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe, Hawaii (18).

The goal would be to begin introducing the planes in 2012, and finish by 2019. The Navy still must issue a “record of decision” for the Poseidon plan.

NAS Brunswick was not considered as a potential home base because all P-3 aircraft and supporting functions are being transferred to NAS Jacksonville per the BRAC 2005 recommendations. The Navy did consider Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu as an alternative Hawaii site, but concluded there wasn’t enough land available at Hickam AFB to support them. US Navy P-8A EIS site | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Seattle Times | Seattle Times re: Hawaii | Honolulu Advertiser, incl. other Kaneohe changes.

Nov 6/08: Engine cert. CFM International’s announces that its CFM56-7B27A/3 engine model has been jointly certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency for the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon, paving the way for flight tests in 2009 and initial operational capability in 2013. Each engine is rated at 27,300 pounds (121 kN) takeoff thrust, and the type has been subjected to extreme heat and icing conditions ver extended periods of time as part of its certification.

CFM International (CFM) is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (SAFRAN Group) and General Electric Company. The CFM56-7B family is very widely used in commercial aviation and powers other 737 military derivatives like the Boeing 737 AEW&C “Wedgetail” and the US military’s C-40 transport aircraft. CFM release.

Nov 2/08: Strike over. Boeing’s strike formally ends, after an agreement is reached between Boeing and the IAM.

P-8A: oncoming
(click to view full)

Sept 11/08: India. The Times of India reports on the Harpoon missile sale as just one of several pending buys, and says that:

“…This [Harpoon sale] comes even as India’s biggest-ever defence deal with US – the one to buy eight Boeing P-8i long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for Rs 8,500 crore – has been sent for final clearance to the Cabinet Committee on Security after finalisation of commercial negotiations.”

Sept 6/08: Strike! A strike begins at Boeing, shutting down production for any P-8 aircraft that are still in factory assembly. The potential exists for a long and damaging strike at Boeing; DID’s “Boeing Strike Poised to Disrupt Deliveries” covers the key issues and potential impacts.

Aug 12/08: Industrial. Boeing announces that the first P-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy has moved from factory assembly to systems integration and pre-flight work. Boeing IDS will now focus on calibrating the flight-test instrumentation on board the aircraft, before moving it to Boeing Field in Seattle early in 2009 for systems integration and additional testing.

Aug 10/08: India. Sindh Today reports that India ‘s contract negotiating committee has completed its report on price negotiations with Boeing, after Boeing won the technical bid and the trials of the product. Negotiations were reportedly stuck due to the end-user agreement, under which Boeing can conduct physical inspections of the aircraft as and when it wants to check if the product is being used for the purpose it has been acquired. This is linked to requirements under American ITAR laws, which regulate sales of military equipment whether they are conducted as FMS or direct commercial sales. India’s defence ministry reportedly separated that set of negotiations from the deal itself, knowing that a signed deal will be significantly harder to cancel, on either side.

The contract will reportedly be a direct commercial agreement between Boeing and the Indian Navy, rather than an announced Foreign Military Sale. The cost is reportedly around $2.2 billion, and that deal will now go to the defence acquisition committee (DAC) and then to the cabinet committee on security (CCS) for approval.

Aug 4/08: LRIP intent. NAVAIR discloses in a FebBizOpps notice that it expects to order 10 P-8A aircraft in fiscal 2010, followed by 12 in FY 2011 and 14 in FY 2012. That would make up the entire set of 36 during Low Rate Initial Production. LRIP is traditionally more expensive than full-rate production, and almost $6.3 billion is budgeted for that phase.

Boeing had said in 2004 that it could accelerate production and move up the first in-service unit by up to a year, from FY 2013 to FY 2012. Now, Flight International reports that “An airframe fatigue crisis facing the Lockheed P-3 Orion fleet has recently forced NAVAIR to publicly consider accepting Boeing’s offer…”

The 10 aircraft projected for FY 2010 would need to receive advance funding for long-lead items in the FY 2009 budget, and should be deliverable by 2012 to stand up one squadron. At the moment, 5 developmental prototypes are in various stages of assembly, with first flight in Q4 2009. As one can see, the timeline for accelerated production hinges strongly on the avoidance of any major engineering or testing issues that delay the P-8A’s progress.

May 20/08: Industrial. P-8 production begins using moving assembly line techniques, which were pioneered with other aircraft. The P-8s will be positioned in a straight-line configuration on the factory floor and stay at a production station for a period of time before advancing to the next station. Standard processes, visual control systems and point-of-use staging are in place, allowing work to flow continuously and quickly. Boeing release.

May 1/08: Industrial. Boeing joins the wing assembly and fuselage of the first P-8A Poseidon in Renton, WA. The next major P-8A assembly milestone will be engine installation this summer. Boeing’s release says that the team remains on track for delivery of the first test aircraft to the Navy in 2009.

April 20/08: India. India’s NDTV reports that:

“India is set to sign a $2.2 billion deal, its biggest with the US, for eight long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, even as the Indian Navy chief opposed ”intrusiveness” in the use of military hardware the country purchases.

Negotiations for the purchase of the Boeing-P8I LRMR aircraft are in the final stages and are likely to be wrapped up during Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta’s visit to the US that began Sunday [DID: That did not happen]. The agreement for the purchase under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route will be signed between the two governments in New Delhi later this year, official sources said.”

March 18/08: MX-20 picked. Boeing picks L-3 Communications Wescam to supply its MX-20HD EO/IR multi-spectral sensor turrets as the P-8A’s digital electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) imaging sensors. L-3 Wescam’s turrets use Enhanced Range Local Area Processing (ELAP) technology to produce real-time image enhancement for EO Day, EO Night & IR video that extends their surveillance range, clarifies the picture, and offers maximum haze penetration.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-2008. Wescam turrets also serve on Britain’s updated Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft. L-3 Wescam release.

Dec 11/07: Sub-contractors. Team Boeing and the US Navy celebrate the start of P-8A fuselage production at Spirit AeroSystems’ Wichita, KS facility, loading the first P-8A fuselage component into a holding fixture on the factory floor. The fuselage assemblies eventually will come together on Spirit’s existing Next-Generation 737 production line. In early 2008, Spirit will ship the first P-8A fuselage to Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Renton, WA for wing assemblies and systems integration. NAVAIR release | Boeing release.

Oct 22/07: Just shoot me. Boeing announces that its P-8A Poseidon team completed the program’s 200th live-fire shot in September 2007, at the U.S. Navy’s Weapons Survivability Laboratory in China Lake, CA. During testing, live ordnance is fired into simulated aircraft sections to replicate a potential threat environment. Dry bays are locations adjacent to fuel that also may contain electrical and hydraulic lines, as well as environmental control systems or engine bleed-air lines. The systems being designed and developed will ensure that dry bay fires are automatically detected and suppressed.

P-8A fire suppression testing began in April 2005, and will continue through 2009. Full-scale live-fire testing is slated for 2012 using the P-8A static test aircraft. Boeing release.

P-8 production
(click to view full)

Aug 9/07: Sub-contractors. Boeing announces that Spirit AeroSystems has joined its P-8A Poseidon industry team. Spirit will build the 737 aircraft’s fuselage and airframe tail sections and struts in Wichita, KS. After completion, Spirit will ship the components to Boeing facilities in Renton, WA for final assembly and introduction of mission-specific systems. Spirit is also part of Boeing’s KC-767 team, and works with Boeing as a partner to produce many of its civilian aircraft.

July 20/07: Australia. Australia grants first pass approval for Phase 2 of its AIR 7000 program, which is the manned aircraft portion. First pass approval allows Australia’s Department of Defence to commence formal negotiations with the United States Navy join the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program; Phase 2 is currently estimated at A$ 4 billion (currently about USD$ 3.52 billion). Australian DoD release.

AIR 7000, Phase 1 involves a Multi-mission Unmanned Aerial System to accompany/ supplement the manned Phase 2 aircraft. Australia gave First Pass Approval to that segment in May 2006, and a final decision and contract regarding participation in the USA’s BAMS program is expected by the end of 2007. These 2 components will replace Australia’s AP-3C Orion aircraft, which are scheduled for retirement in 2018 after over 30 years of service.

July 3/07: India. Defense News reports that Indian officials will be studying Boeing’s P-8A and Airbus A319 aircraft in France, Germany, Spain and the United States as they prepare for a decision re: their maritime patrol aircraft competition.

Don’t get too excited yet; bids were submitted back in April 2006, but that’s only the very beginning. Indian officials will be sending preliminary evaluations go to the MoD by September 2007, which will lead to a short list of bidders. A preliminary decision and price negotiations will begin “within two years,” i.e. by mid-2009. Past experience has demonstrated that such price negotiations can take years themselves – or even sink deals entirely, something that has happened repeatedly during India’s attempts to purchase second-hand Mirage 2000 fighters.

June 18/07: Sub-contractors. United Technologies subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand, announces that its Kidde Aerospace & Defense unit has been selected to supply Dry Bay Fire Protection Systems for the Boeing P-8A. The non-halon Dry Bay Fire Protection System will detect and suppress fires and explosions in the aircraft’s compartments in case flammable fluids leak in due to ballistic damage or system faults. The potential program value could exceed $100 million for both domestic and international sales over the life of the program.

Hamilton Sundstrand had previously been selected to supply the electric power generating system, power distribution and cooling systems on the P-8A. Hamilton Sundstrand release.

May 17/07: LSRS. Ares blog at Aviation Week Reveals the Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS) that equips a few P-3Cs, and will equip the P-8A.

Bill Sweetman discusses the radar, explains the likely link to a design modification made by Boeing early in the program, and notes the possible convergence of the Navy’s P-8A’s mission with the overland surveillance job done by the USAF’s E-8C JSTARS – though NATO’s Airbus 321-based AGS, with its own UAV companion, would appear to be an even closer comparison.

March 29/07: Infrastructure. Sauer, Inc. in Jacksonville, FL received $14.7 million for task #0001 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N62477-04-D-0036) for the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) Test Facilities supporting the MMA Program at Patuxent River, MD. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, MD, and is expected to be complete March 2009. This contract was competitively procured, with 2 proposals received by The Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Washington, DC.

Jan 9/07: P-8A MMA formally given the designation “Poseidon”.

June 28/06: Infrastructure. John C. Grimberg Co. Inc. in Rockville, MD won a $6.1 million for firm-fixed-price task order 0009 under a previously awarded indefinite-quantity, multiple-award construction contract. The funds cover design and construction of P-8 aircraft test facilities at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. It is the first of two projects that together will support the maintenance testing and instrumentation needs of the P-8 MMA program. This phase will build a new 2-story P-8 MMA test complex building on a wooded site adjacent to Building 1463 and across the street from Hangar 305. The building will include engineering offices, maintenance and telecommunications rooms. Work is expected to be completed by July 2007.

The basic contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation website, with 17 proposals received and an award made on July 22, 2004. The total contract amount is not to exceed $500 million over the base period and 4 option years, and the 7 approved contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the existing contract. Two proposals were received for this task order by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Washington, DC.

Weapon separation
wind tunnel tests
(click to view full)

Feb 23/06: Testing. Boeing announces the completion of P-8A weapons separation wind tunnel tests at the Arnold Air Force Base Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, TN. These help to ensure that explosives-filled weapons won’t blow up the aircraft when dropped. See release.

Nov 21/05: See DID’s article “Boeing Wins $24M for P-8A & BAMS-Related Software Development”

April 18/05: Boeing’s team announces a competition for fire-suppression systems in the P-8′s dry bays adjacent to fuel tanks containing electrical and hydraulic lines, environmental control systems, or engine bleed air lines.

The testing program involves two “iron bird” test fixtures. A gun will fire an explosive projectile to ignite a fire in the bay, while inflicting only moderate damage to the test fixture. Preliminary tests are scheduled for April-May 2005. Development and verification testing of the selected systems will continue through 2009. Full-scale live-fire testing is scheduled for 2012 using the P-8A static test aircraft. There’s more in the full Boeing release.

April 13/05: Boeing’s P-8 team announces the completion of 1,300 hours of high-speed wind-tunnel testing a full week ahead of schedule on March 18, 2005. The team conducted the tests at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffet Field, CA, using a 6.2 percent scale model in the 11-ft. transonic wind tunnel. Previous low-speed wind tunnel tests in Boeing’s 20 x 20 ft. subsonic wind tunnel facility in Philadelphia, PA looked at a variety of unique features, in addition to the basic stability of the aircraft with weapons bay door open, or flaps down, or landing gear down to simulate takeoff and landing conditions.

Preliminary analysis of test data revealed no major surprises or obvious problems, and the team took measures to improve test productivity that saved 200 hours of the testing time. See Boeing high-speed release | low speed release.

Sept 30/04: The Boeing Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program successfully passes an in-depth, 3-day System Requirements Review (SRR) by the U.S. Navy. See Boeing release.

Nov 13/03: Boeing Announces Formation of MMA Industry Team.

Appendix A: India's Interest & Broader Export Potential

TU-142M "Bear"

The P-8 replaces the P-3 Orion aircraft currently in service with 15 countries. The question is, will that be enough to ensure market success?

The Indian Navy's interest in joining the P-8 program was communicated in 2005, and some Indian Navy sources believed that a Air India's decision to spend $6 billion on 50 Boeing civil jets would incline Boeing toward a favorable response. Whether or not that purchase was a factor, it's a matter of record that Boeing submitted a bid involving 8 737-derived P-8 aircraft for India's Maritime Patrol Aircraft competition - and won.

The P-8A matches the operational profile currently assigned to the Indian Navy's Russian-made Tupolev-142 "Bear" and Ilyushin-38 "May" long-range reconnaissance, maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. It faced strong competition, and its 2015 delivery schedule was a potential issue the bid; but other factors were also at work, and the plane won.

Discussions concerning the P-8 came in the wake a 2005 visit to India by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in which the USA expressed its desire to make improvements in their strategic relationship. Given the two nations' shared interest in an arc that stretches from the Staits of Malacca to the coast of East Africa, many analysts see naval cooperation as the likely linchpin of their future military relationship. Washington's initial offer of at least 12 P-3C Orions would have matched India's requirements profile immediately, but participation in the P-8A offered an aircraft with superior performance in all respects, a much longer operational lifespan, plus accompanying strategic, industrial, and prestige benefits. Some analysts considered the request a sort of test by India of its long-term importance to the USA. If so, it appears that the relationship has passed the test.

What about sales beyond India?

P-3/ CP-140 Aurora
(click to view full)

By mid-2005, age had shrunk the global P-3 fleet to something on the order of 225 P-3 type aircraft flying on behalf of 15 countries. Even so, this represents a substantial market. The question is, who will claim it?

Some nations who fly the P-3 already have a natural interest in the P-8, while others like India recognize its obvious usefulness against both the diesel submarine threat and a variety of threats related to the war on terrorism, anti-drug efforts, et. al. As such, the market opportunity for the MMA could be quite substantial. A 2004 story in Aviation Week said that Boeing believes there are opportunities to sell 100 to 150 P-8s abroad.

Subsequent developments have cast doubt on that forecast.

At the end of 2004, Australia, Canada, and Italy were named by the U.S. government as being the most likely partners in the development of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA). Each potential international partner would be expected to contribute approximately $300 million toward the development of the P-8A. The U.S. also approached other allies but according to eDefense they were "less responsive," raising the prospect of a competing European system at some future date based on an Airbus airframe - or even a more complete bifurcation of the maritime surveillance market.

The US Navy entered formal talks with Australia, Canada, and Italy, but did not receive any firm commitments. Australia has since taken strong steps toward participation, but Canada has made no commitments of any kind, and Italy has since taken steps to purchase ATR twin-turboprop maritime patrol aircraft instead.

CN-235MP Persuader
(click to view full)

This lack of interest has to concern Boeing, because the P-3's successor will not be the only game in town. The EU's focus on developing a rival defense industry, and European states' reduced need to patrol long sea lanes in the absence of a global Soviet threat, are creating a number of smaller competitors. These include aircraft like the French Atlantique ATL3, and the EADS/CASA CN-235MP Persuader already ordered by Spain, Indonesia, Ireland, Turkey, UAE, and the US Coast Guard. Italy is exporting ATR-42MP turboprops and flying them in their Coast Guard, while building larger versions based on the popular ATR-72 regional passenger turboprop for Italy's Navy and customers like Turkey. Designs are even appearing for executive jets equipped with maritime surveillance radars and related gear.

During the P-3's era, long over-water patrols of the vital Atlantic sea lanes were an absolute necessity for all NATO members, lest Soviet submarines destroy all hope of reinforcements from America. With the demise of the Soviet Union, that need is gone. European maritime surveillance and attack requirements have shrunk sharply, and many countries see the P-8's range and endurance parameters as unnecessary.

As a result, the global maritime patrol category appears to be bifurcating into a broad class of nations who buy smaller and cheaper aircraft, and an elite few with more extensive requirements who can and will buy aircraft in the P-8A's class.

The USA still faces strategic naval competitors, and its aircraft must still cover long sea lanes. This geographic need is shared to varying degrees by a few other nations like Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Denmark, France, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. Britain (Nimrod MRA4), France (ATL3, Falcon 50 Surmar bizjet derivative, possibly Airbus 319MPA) and Japan (P-X jet) each have their own programs, Russia will go her own way, and China is not an eligible customer for American or European aircraft. Australia, India, and the USA are on board with the P-8A. Which countries join them likely boils down to how many of the remaining countries (Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Norway), plus rich "prestige buyers" in the Middle East, eventually choose to include aircraft with the P-8's range, equipment, and performance; as opposed to buying fleets that only include smaller and less capable options based on passenger/utility turboprops, business jets, or even long-endurance UAVs.

Additional Readings & Sources

• Boeing - P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA). See also All Systems Go Magazine, Vol. 2 Issue 1 (2003), with "737 MMA: Boeing Launches New Era".

• GlobalSecurity.org - P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft

• Avionics Magazine - B737 Joins the Navy. Excellent treatment of the P-8A's electronics.

• Naval Technology - P-8A - Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), USA

• Wikipedia - P-8 Multimission Maritime Aircraft

• Nav Log - The P-8: The Adventure Continues. Deeply doubts that the USN will buy the number it plans to buy.

• DID - Kicking it Up a Notch: Poseidon's Unmanned BAMS Companion

• GlobalSecurity.org - P-7 Long Range Air ASW-Capable Aircraft (LRAACA)

• Lexington Institute (Oct 8/10) - P-8A Poseidon: A New Model For Military Procurement. More than slightly over-optimistic about potential export buyers.

• DID (Nov 21/06) - Aging Aircraft Redux: Seapower on US Navy & USMC Fleets

• DID (Aug 24/05) - Follow-Up: Rear Adm. Michael L. Holmes on The USA's P-3C Force. Excellent in-depth interview, which discusses plans for the P-3 fleet, changes underway in the Navy, and the P-8's role.

• Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest (2003; Volume 24, Number 3) - Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft Survivability in Modern Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Missions [PDF format]

• National Defense Magazine (December 2000) – Navy Ponders Options for P-3 Replacement. Good overview of the choices and pressures at hand.

• DID – C-40 Clippers Hitting Their Stride, Despite Past Controversy. Another 737 derivative, in service with the USN, offers some fleet commonality.

• Wikipedia – Wedgetail 737 AEW&CS. Not bought by the USA, but by likely P-8 operator Australia, as well as South Korea and Turkey. Experiencing significant R&D issues.

Additional Readings & Sources: The MP Market & Competitors

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [AIAA], Aerospace America Magazine (April 2002) – Maritime patrol market: Escaping the doldrums. By the Teal Group, an aerospace industry analyst firm. Very good at outlining the contours of the P-8′s market, as well as some of the turboprop vs. jet trade-offs.

Prop-Driven

• GlobalSecurity.org – P-3 Orion

• DID – P-3 Recovery Plan Tries to Keep the Fleet in the Air. Bridging to the P-8A is becoming a challenge, as the P-3s wear out.

• Naval Technology – Atlantique ATL3 – Maritime Patrol Aircraft, France

• ATR – ATR-72 ASW. Size similar to the Dash-8, can be armed. Their smaller ATR-42 has an “ATR Surveyor” maritime surveillance version.

• Naval Technology – AirTech CN-235MP/MPA – Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Spain / Indonesia

• Modified Dash-8 turboprop aircraft are serving as the aerial linchpin of Australia’s billion-dollar public-private Coastwatch program, and have been ordered or leased by other nations as well.

Jets

• CASR – Aurora Alternatives – EADS MPA320 / MPA319. The A319 MPA doesn’t have many other sources. This article explains why – it was originally an A320 MPA, but Spain and Italy chose cheaper alternatives. Changes were made, and India was the launch customer target for the “MPA319-CJ”, but Boeing’s P-8i won instead and that may be the end of the Airbus platform. See also Flight International’s “EADS proposes maritime variant of Airbus A319 with bomb bay doors for India.”

• DID FOCUS Article – Nimrod Was Actually a Good Hunter: Upgrading Britain’s Fleet (updated). Provides an interesting basis of comparison to the P-8A program. Some aircraft in the British Nimrod fleet are being upgraded to MRA4 status, and will serve as Britain’s long-range maritime patrol aircraft. Like the P-8 Poseidon, the Nimrod is also a converted passenger jet – albeit one of 1950s vintage design.

• DID – Japan’s P-X Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Our readers supplied some answers re: Japan’s absence from the list of P-8 partners.

• CASR – Bombardier Challenger 604 MMA. “Since 2003, Challenger 604 Multi-Mission Aircraft of the Royal Danish Air Force (Flyvevabnet) have been flying sovereignty/fisheries enforcement patrols around Greenland and the Faroe Islands. These Canadian-made aircraft are Bombardier Challenger 604 bizjets equipped with quick-change interiors for different roles including VIP transport, medevac, maritime surveillance (for which search radar is fitted), fisheries / EEZ protection, ice reconnaissance, SAR, and environmental protection…”

• Airliners.net – Dassault Falcon 50. “The Surmar is a maritime patrol version of the [Falcon 50EX] ordered by the French navy (fitted with a FLIR and search radar).” See also Dassault’s Multi-Mission Falcon page.

Additional Readings & Sources: News & Updates

• Lexington Institute (Oct 3/12) – Modernizing the Air Force’s Electronic Aircraft Fleet [PDF]. Advocates a P-8 derivative instead of re-engining and maintaining 707-derived E-8C battlefield surveillance planes.

• Indian Defence Review (Vol 23.3, September 2008) – Boeing plans to bring to India a uniquely Indian solution. This interview with Chris Chadwick, President, Boeing Military Aircraft Discusses Boeing’s plans for industrial cooperation et. al. in India.

• Raytheon (August 8/06) – Raytheon Celebrates P-8A Early Delivery To Boeing. They’re referring to key parts of the APY-10 radar.

• Linux Sys-Con (Aug 1/06) – Boeing Selects Wind River Carrier Grade Linux For P-8A MMA System.

• Curtiss-Wright – (July 31/06) – Curtiss-Wright will supply COTS Video Switching Technology [PDF format]. A $2.7 million contract for 19″ air-cooled rack mount VME-based Video Interface Units (VIU) to be integrated into the P-8A’s Mission Computing Display System.

• DID (April 17/06) – India’s Navy Holding Maritime Patrol Aircraft Competition Boeing’s P-8A MMA submitted a bid, which is detailed in our coverage along with the various contenders and India’s growing naval responsibilities.

• DID (Feb 06/06) – ACS Failure Fallout: Boeing to Offer SIGINT 737 (updated). The P-8A team is involved, and the two aircraft would share some common systems. A SIGINT 737 would replace the EP-3 Aries II Orion derivatives currently in service.

• DID (Dec 12/05) – $96.5M to Refine USA’s Main Airborne Maritime Surveillance Radar. This modification continues the refinement of the AN/APS-137D(V)5 maritime radar system, by exercising an option for the development, testing, and incorporation of enhanced precision targeting. DID explains what this radar does. An iteration of this radar will be installed on the P-8A.

• DID (Dec 2/05) – Global Hawk UAV Prepares for Maritime Role (updated). These efforts are relevant to BAMS/PUMAS.

• Stork (Nov 18/05) – Stork Aerospace selected by Boeing for development and management of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) wiring. Stork has a world-class specialty in this area, and are doing the wiring for the F-35 fighter as well. The package includes development of all P-8A Mission System wire bundles, fiber optics, coax and data bus wiring systems and delivery of systems for first three developmental test aircraft, development laboratories and four follow-on optional operational test aircraft. The contract is currently valued at approximately $12 million during a 4 year period.

• Seapower (June 2005) – Boeing Eyes High Flying Torpedo. The High-Altitude ASW Weapon Concept. The HAAWC Mk54 lightweight torpedo would be launched from the P-8A Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) at an altitude of 30,000 feet and glide seven to 10 minutes to the water entry point, where it would shed its wings and activate a parachute to lower the torpedo into the water to begin its run toward the target. This avoids the need to make a time-consuming descent from their surveillance altitudes of 30,000 feet to a release altitude of 300-1,000 feet and release a torpedo, something that saves wear on the P-3C Orion’s wings. Is it also an implicit admission that the 737 is not particularly well suited to long stints at low altitudes?

• Aviation Week Aerospace Daily & Defense Report (Nov 5/04) – U.S. Navy Eyes Three Nations For Possible Role In MMA

• India Express (May 3/05) – Navy Eyes New Boeing, Awaits Signal

• Lockheed-Martin (April 5/04) – Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft Offers Latest Mission System Technologies For The U.S. Navy

• Lockheed Martin (Dec 16/03) – Lockheed Martin Announces Propulsion Team For Navy’s Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft Competition

• Lockheed Martin (June 9/03) – Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft Solution Is Right For Many Countries. Apparently not for the USA, however. It was based on the P-3.

• US NAVAIR (Jan 13/03) – Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft: The Future of Maritime Patrol

The Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program began in 1995, and it has taken a very long time. Its MoU was late, its contract will be both late and smaller in scope, and it won’t meet even a revised 2012 – 2014 fielding window. At long last, however, one can be assured that it will exist.T his is DID’s in-depth FOCUS Article covering the AGS program, from its platforms to its program structure to its long-awaited contracts.

The original AGS plan involved an Airbus A321 counterpart to Northrop Grumman’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS), a Boeing 707 derivative whose powerful ground-looking Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) offers American commanders combat-changing battlefield surveillance and communications. AGS would be a pooled NATO asset, adding 7 RQ-4B Global Hawk UAVs and dedicated ground stations to complement the manned planes. It has since been reduced to just 5 RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk UAVs and dedicated ground stations, but could expand again if countries decide to make some of their national surveillance assets part of the program.

The Need for AGS

AGS CONOPS
(click to view full)

AGS was envisioned as a core component for the NATO Response Force. The war in Libya was a concrete example that didn’t involve regular ground forces, but the usefulness of land surveillance platforms was so keenly felt, that Northrop Grumman’s graphic at the beginning of the article overlays AGS on a not-so-subtle a map of Libya. The AGS fleet will also support a variety of new mission requirements for NATO, including domestic security operations and humanitarian relief.

Writing in (the now-defunct) eDefense Online, Polish Air Force and military intelligence veteran Michal Fiszer had this to say:

NATO re: AGS
click for video

“The key to victory in modern conflict is informational superiority. The side that enjoys the highest degree of information superiority can maneuver its forces quickly and decisively to achieve tactical and operational advantage over its enemy. It can also precisely and effectively engage every vital element of the enemy’s forces to reduce their fighting capabilities to nil. To make a comparison to chess: Imagine that the side that achieves information superiority can see the chessboard and the pieces of both sides, whereas the other side has to play seeing only some of own pieces and having fragmentary information about the positions of his opponent’s pieces – mainly information about where they were a turn or two ago, as opposed to were they actually are.

Five elements are needed to achieve and exploit information superiority. The first is ability to see, and this requires effective intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities across the depth of the enemy’s echelons, seven days a week and 24 hours a day. The second element is the command, control, and communications (C3) network, built in accordance with the concept of network-centric warfare, with the ability not only to carry and distribute tremendous amounts of information to users in a timely way but also with the ability to merge (fuse) the collected information to create a common, recognized situation picture in all necessary areas: tactical, operational, logistic, personnel, etc., so that all friendly commanders are aware of all own and enemy forces. The third element is the ability to maneuver, to use the speed of ones own forces to take advantageous positions over the enemy, who is constantly observed. The fourth element is ability to conduct precision strikes against observed and tracked assets of the enemy’s forces that are the most vital to his war-waging capabilities and that pose the biggest threats to friendly forces. And the last but certainly not least element is properly trained personnel – especially commanders and planners who understand the rules of the game and can exploit them fully to their advantage. All these elements are links in the same chain, and if any of them are lacking, then the system is degraded, perhaps to the point of ineffectiveness.”

NE-3A AWACS
(click to view full)

At present, European countries lack many of these key capabilities. By creating a NATO pool that can be built up over time, countries whose small defense budgets could not afford the required investment now have a way forward. This is why Fiszer referred to AGS as “the most important European military program since the end of the Cold War.”

Despite the project’s supposed importance, it has been a long slog. The AGS program began in 1995, when the NATO Defence Ministers endorsed the NATO Conference of National Armament Directors (CNAD) recommendation for “a NATO-owned and -operated core capability, supplemented by interoperable national assets.” NATO even had a ready-made model for a program like that, in its very successful pooled E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) program.

Over a decade later, they were just beginning to make procurement decisions. It would take almost 15 years to get a Programme Memorandum of Understanding. It would be almost 2 decades before the AGS program saw anything like a contract.

NATO AGS: Program & History

On April 1/04, the AGS Steering Committee decided to sign the design and development contract with the TIPS consortium – a decision endorsed by NATO’s Conference of National Armaments Directors on April 16/04. In addition to Northrop-Grumman and EADS, the winning 2004 Trans-Atlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) team included General Dynamics Canada, French defense firm Thales, Spain’s Indra and Italy’s Galileo Avionica (now SELEX Galileo). Their solution would combine Airbus’ A321 single-aisle passenger jet, a new ground-looking radar, RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs as supplements, and a set of ground stations.

The losing CTAS Consortium was led by Raytheon, and included AMS, Bombardier, Siemens, and 23 other firms. It would have offered AGS a design based on Bombardier’s Global Express jet, used in Britain’s similar ASTOR Sentinel R1 program.

The initial award proved that the nearly two dozen member nations could agree on funding for the program. After that, however, things got rocky.

Not anymore.
(click to view full)

NATO was due to decide by early 2006 whether the alliance would go ahead with the full EUR 4 billion ($5.2 billion) program, and the program was cut slightly but survived. The next estimate for a pared-back program was EUR 3.3 billion (about $4.1 billion) for R&D and initial fielding. Optimism remained, as Northrop-Grumman officials noted that its $250 million per plane E-8C J-STARS ground surveillance aircraft also began as a small 5-6 plane order in 1985. Northrop-Grumman eventually delivered 17 of the modified Boeing 707-300s due to customer demand, and the E-8 JSTARS performed well in Desert Storm, Kosovo, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and beyond. Indeed, their capabilities were so valuable that they were the catalyst for NATO’s own AGS program.

The design and development phase for AGS was to last for 2 years, from 2005 – 2007, to be followed by the acquisition phase between 2007 – 2009.

In mid-2007, however, Europe’s declining defense budgets resulted in a program change. NATO chose to move forward with a UAV-only solution. It would be based on an off-the-shelf RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk, dropping the A321 and its radar entirely. Alliance member nations were expected to agree to a Program Memorandum of Understanding based on this new plan in early 2008. That didn’t happen until late 2009, and the EUR 3 billion, 20-year program plan wasn’t actually finalized until 2012.

AGS’ core industrial team is still led by Northrop Grumman from its Melbourne, FL facility, but the TIPS team was replaced by a new group. EADS, Finmeccanica’s SELEX Galileo, and Norway’s Kongsberg are listed as the major European players. Participating nations have also changed, and full AGS members now include:

• Bulgaria
  
• Canada
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Denmark (rejoined)
  
• Estonia
  
• Germany
  
• Italy
  
• Latvia
  
• Lithuania
  
• Luxembourg
  
• Norway
  
• Poland (applying)
  
• Romania
  
• Slovakia
  
• Slovenia
  
• United States of America

This list is more than enough to make AGS a key NATO capability, but it’s also worth noting that several countries aren’t included. Denmark pulled out in 2010, as part of defense budget cuts, but rejoined in 2012. Canada did the same in 2011, but hasn’t rejoined. Britain and France are missing from that list, as are Greece, Spain, and Turkey.

All alliance members will be eligible to participate in AGS, however, by contributing to the cost of operating the UAVs and accompanying systems.

AGS Initial Operating Capability was initially scheduled for 2010-2011, but since the contract award took until May 2012, IOC isn’t expected before November 2016. Full Operational Capability was scheduled for 2012-2014, and is now likely to be closer to 2018-2020.

Sigonella Air Base, Italy will be AGS’ Main Operating Base, hosting the 5 RQ-4B Block 40 UAVs and the fixed ground segment. AGS will share that base with USAF RQ-4B Global Hawks, and with the USN’s MQ-4C BAMS counterparts.

NATO AGS: Platforms & Technologies

AGS: The Aerial Component

Click this text for full 1.9 MB [PDF]:

Global Hawk AGS
c. Northrop Grumman

AGS has changed, leaving a core of just 5 RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40s, bought more or less off-the-shelf. They will be combined with ground control stations that would be developed through the AGS program, via collaboration between Canadian and European firms.

The full AGS was originally slated to include a mixed fleet of both manned and unmanned aircraft. The manned portion initially called for 5 Airbus A321 aircraft, hosting the developmental Transatlantic Cooperative AGS Radar (TCAR). It aimed to create is a high-performance, side-looking, wide area, multi-mode ground surveillance radar, to be developed under an agreement between France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. TCAR would reside in the sausage-shaped portion above the Airbus airframe, which beat out the smaller but longer-range ASTOR Sentinel R1/ Bombardier Global Express platform offered by Raytheon’s CTAS consortium.

The A321 TCAR’s unmanned companion set was initially set to consist of 4 Northrop-Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with new AN/ZPY-2 MP-RTIP (Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program) radars. MP-RTIP is a high-resolution synthetic-aperture ground surveillance radar made by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, using next-generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technologies. Block 40 and MP-RTIP were already part of the USA’s Global Hawk program, handing NATO the unusual combination of a low-risk developmental program. MP-RTIP may also retrofit some E-8C JSTARS aircraft, and is reported to have a resolution that could improve the current E-8C radar’s rumored 12-14 foot resolution to 1 foot or less.

When the A321 TCAR was removed, therefore, AGS became just 5 Global Hawk Block 40 UAVs. As NATO wrangling continued into its final stages, however, an interesting thing happened. AGS began to become a UAV pool – and may even re-introduce the very manned Sentinnel R1 option that lost the original competition.

AGS: Go Jump in the Pool

Astor Sentinnel R1
(clickto view full)

Germany is on board for AGS, and also has its own 5-UAV Eurohawk program. It’s based on earlier model RQ-4B Block 20 UAVs, fielded with the standard Global Hawk ground-scanning radar instead of MP-RTIP, but enhanced with added communications and electronic signals intercept (COMINT and SIGINT) capabilities. Eurohawk isn’t formally in the AGS pool, but its likely to connect to the same intelligence processing and distribution infrastructure over time. The combination of AGS and loaned Eurohawks could give NATO a small but full-spectrum battlefield monitoring option.

The agreement that other members could join AGS by contributing to its operating costs may make Germany’s Eurohawks a more explicit AGS component in future. If so, it would follow a trail blazed by France and Britain, who are expected to participate operation via contributions of their own equipment. This will diversify the AGS pool even further.

Britain has already deployed its 5 manned Astor Sentinel R1 aircraft, whose design lost to the AGS TIPS consortium’s initial A321 bid. Like the USA’s Global Hawk UAVs, it proved very popular during the 2011 campaign in Libya. That left the British looking for reasons to keep their new jets, instead of scrapping them per the 2010 strategic review. Britain doesn’t field any high-end UAVs yet, which makes flight-hours for its Sentinel jets a natural fit as the UK’s AGS contribution. Since Britain will usually be participating in any NATO operation that needs AGS, the inclusion of their jets’ flight-hours would mostly serve as double-counting accounting for Britain, while providing extra airframes to NATO. Integrating the Sentinel R1s’ feeds into AGS’ ground systems for common distribution, however, may require some work.

France is currently embroiled in a political battle over the replacement of its IAI Heron-derived Harfang UAVs, and the official choice is a derivative of IAI’s larger Heron TP. That UAV was officially offered to NATO as France’s AGS contribution, and a joint French-British drone program may add more options after 2020.

AGS: The Ground Component

On the ground, the AGS Mobile Ground Stations are designed to support Rapid Deployment and dynamic field situations. The idea is that by sharing common mission equipment with the air segment, full system functionality (including Mission Planning and Control) may be exercised from any authorized source. As usual, the contractors are touting the use of computing and data standards, and promising an AGS that will send its data to national intelligence distribution systems, as well as NATO’s own C3I systems. As usual, the proof will come only with a working ground system, and corresponding national investments, that demonstrates advertised performance.

The ground segment was to be divided into 3 levels:

1. Fixed Ground Station configuration. Available for an office type environment, command center, etc. This will be deployed at Sigonella, Italy.
2. Transportable Ground Stations. Retains common physical and functional capabilities packaged in flexible protective casing, and is suitable for a variety on vehicles or ships.
3. “Software Grounds Stations” Share common software with the Mission Equipment, and brings some of the functionality of a System Workstation to authorized computing systems.

NATO AGS: Key Events & Contracts

AGS Contract Partners
(click to view full)

April 26/13: France. France has reportedly agreed to join part of the AGS program, and is working out the details of a financial contribution to AGS’ ground systems component. That would be pretty important if France wants to also contribute UAV hours, using its own platforms.

Before they can go ahead, the French General Staff has to validate a draft of France’s joint ISR concept, and an MoU will be required with the USA. TTU [in French]

April 10/13: US FY 2014 Budget. The President releases a proposed budget at last, the latest in modern memory. The Senate and House were already working on budgets in his absence, but the Pentagon’s submission is actually important to proceedings going forward. See ongoing DID coverage. US contributions to AGS continue, from $82.9 million in FY 2012, to $210.1 million in FY 2013, to $264.1 million in FY 2014 – a total of $557.1 million over those 3 years.

The news is not good for the Global Hawk 40, however, whose budget lines do not initially appear to involve further USAF buys. There’s no initial reaction from the AGS partners concerning the threat of an orphan platform.

March – April 2013: Certification. Reports in the French and German media highlight the problems that Germany’s RQ-4 EuroHawk has been having with airspace certification, and say that its cost could end the program entirely. Parliamentary State Secretary of Defense Thomas Kossendey says the program is having problems furnishing the documentation it needs for flight certification in shared airspace, and that those efforts could end up costing EUR 500-600 million on top of the EUR 1.3 billion already spent on development, UAVs, sensors, basing, etc.

AGS’ choice of Sigonella AB should help them avoid similar problems, but this sort of certification hangup will still be an issue if AGS members want the system to help with missions like local disaster surveillance. A worse problem comes from rumors that the USA will abandon the Global Hawk Block 40 in the 2014 budget. If AGS becomes the only Global Hawk Block 40 system in operation, it could become very expensive to support. Shz.de [in German] | TTU [in French] | UASVision re: RQ-4B Block 40.

Jan 4/13: Sub-contractors. General Dynamics Canada receives a C$ 32 million [about the same in USD] contract from Northrop Grumman, to provide the software that will control the AGS Communications Ground Control System (CGCS).

The CGCS will manage radio and satellite communications between the AGS RQ-4B UAVs and the main operating base in Sigonella, Italy. General Dynamics Canada will also deliver ruggedized computer workstations, and the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) intercom systems for communications among operators at the operating base and between mobile command centers. As the final part of its contract, the firm will provide engineering support for the integration of its software and systems at Northrop Grumman’s facilities in the United States, and at the joint base in Sigonella.

Canada has bowed out of the AGS program, but GD Canada won anyway. The firm will be using technology that has been deployed in Canadian P-3/CP-140 fleet upgrades, and on the MH-92/CH-148 maritime helicopter. Their final product is likely to see deployment in Canada’s long-range UAVs, if and when the JUSTAS program ever buys some. GD.

May 21/12: Sub-contractors. Norway’s Kongsberg Defence Systems details its AGS sub-contract:

“KONGSBERG signed a EUR 28 million contract with Northrop Grumman ISS International Inc for the development of… solutions for storing, searching and retrieval of advanced sensor data from the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The contract extends over the next 3.5 years.”

Feb 15/12: AGS Set. Reports surface that NATO will spend EUR 3.0 billion (about $3.9 billion) on the AGS program over 20 years, including at least EUR 1 billion for the 5 RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 UAVs, plus all of their ground and onboard equipment, which includes the new MP-RTIP radar. The other EUR 2 billion is expected to cover 20 years of operating costs. While the Global Hawks drones are being bought by 13/28 eligible nations, tasking will be open to all NATO allies who will contribute to the cost of operating them.

NATO appears to have bowed to France and Britain here, who will mostly contribute by providing their own UAVs to the pool. France has said that its future Heron TP variants would be made available to AGS as their contribution. That way, they can avoid having to pay cash, while justifying an expensive local UAV adaptation program. Britain doesn’t have any high-end UAVs. What they do have, though, is the ASTOR Sentinel R1 jets that proved so useful over Libya, and which they’ve been looking for a reason to keep.

Meanwhile, this still isn’t a contract to Northrop Grumman. All of this information was provided by an “anonymous NATO official.” Or maybe not so anonymous. From NATO:

“We have with us Ludwig Decamps, Director of Strategy and Smart Defence, in the NATO’s Defence Investment Division and he will update us on NATO’s future Alliance Ground Surveillance – as you know, the final details of this key programme were agreed earlier this month by NATO Defence Ministers and Ludwig will be speaking on background as a “NATO Official.”

Thanks, Ludwig. Aviation Week | Defense News | Reuters.

Feb 13/12: The USA’s FY 2013 budget documents include a set-aside to buy 3 RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40s, for the NATO AGS program:

“The FY 2013 budget requests funding for 3 NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) systems. The NATO AGS, which is based on the Block 40 version of the RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, will enable the Alliance to perform persistent surveillance over wide areas from 4-8 high-altitude, long-endurance, unmanned aerial platforms operating at considerable stand-off distances and in any weather or light condition. Using advanced radar sensors, the NATO AGS will continuously detect and track moving objects throughout observed areas, and provide radar imagery of areas and stationary objects. Funding is $0.2 billion in FY 2013 and totals $0.9 billion from FY 2013 – FY 2017.”

Jan 16/12: France. Defense News reports that France is offering the modified Heron TP drones as its contribution to the NATO AGS program – which wants cash as promised, in order to buy the program’s 5 larger and more capable RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk jet-powered UAVs.

The move may be prompted in part by estimates that the bill for France’s proposed Heron-TP UAVs, with additions like satellite communications and de-icing gear, might even reach EUR 620 million total. Having the resulting drones serve double-duty may be appealing to the French, but introduces compatibility and budget issues for the rest of the project. Which is reportedly still stalled:

“The AGS package is still being discussed at NATO,” an alliance press officer said. “It is a topic to be discussed in the February meeting of defense ministers.”

Aug 18/11: Canada out. Canada’s conservative Party government also withdraws from AGS, as a follow-on to their June 2011 withdrawal from NATO’s E-3 AWACS pool. NATO’s official blog | NAGSMO statement.

No Canada

July 21/11: MP-RTIP. The RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk completes its 1st full system flight with the high performance AN/ZPY-2 MP-RTIP radar, at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Northrop Grumman.

Feb 22-24/11: NAGSMA:

“Italy hosted an AGS Infrastructure meeting at Sigonella AFB… The main objective of the meeting was to facilitate the authors of the AGS Capability Package (CP) amendments to finalise the Infrastructure and Investment amendments and present them to the AGS CAPCO, for Bi-SC staffing & ultimately for submission to the authorities at NATO HQ.”

Dec 1/10: MP-RTIP. The first production MP/RTIP radar has been delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, CA for integration on the Global Hawk Block 40. Northrop Grumman.

June 7/10: RFP response. Northrop Grumman formally submits its proposal for NATO AGS, with a contract award expected in October 2010. Their industry team contains “more than 25 companies from the 15 nations participating in this program,” and is based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 with MP-RTIP radar. Other major industry participants in the final bid include EADS, SELEX Galileo, General Dynamics Canada, and Kongsberg. The NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency (NAGSMA) will manage the acquisition.

Spain’s Indra had been part of the AGS TIPS consortium, but Spain is not an AGS participant, and Indra wasn’t named as a major partner.

The proposal also includes the required mobile and transportable ground stations, and a mission operation support center at the main operating base in Sigonella, Italy. Those elements will be wholly produced by European industry, and Northrop Grumman believes that this offers the potential for national re-use in other programs, as a common UAV control/ data distribution solution. Northrop Grumman.

Revised AGS
(click to view full)

Sept 25/09: PMoU. The 15 nations participating in NATO’s AGS program finish signing the Programme Memorandum of Understanding (PMOU). The PMOU, along with the AGS Charter, sets the legal, organizational, and budgetary framework for AGS, and launches both the NATO AGS Management Organisation (NAGSMO) and NATO AGS Management Agency (NAGSMA). NATO | Northrop Grumman.

AGS PMoU

Feb 20/09: The NATO nations participating in the AGS program begin the process to sign the Programme Memorandum of Understanding (PMOU). Once the signature process is complete, the NATO AGS Management Agency (NAGSMA) will be established to expeditiously prepare for the award of the AGS contract. Source.

Nov 22/07: Basing. NATO has pushed back a main operations base decision for the 4-8 Global Hawk UAVs that will operate under the AGS program, as it evaluates the various proposals.

Italy offered Sigonella air base in Sicily, which hosts a U.S. Naval Air Station and became a base for US Global Hawks and future USN BAMS Global Hawk variants. It eventually won.

Germany proposed Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in its northernmost province. Their big selling point was commonality benefits for spares, training, maintenance, etc., as it will also host Germany’s Eurohawk RQ-4 derivatives beginning in 2010.

Greece proposed Aktion Air Base, which is currently a forward operating base for NATO’s fleet of E-3A AWACS.

Other offers on the table included Poland’s Powidz AB, Portugal’s Beja AB, Spain’s large air base outside Zaragoza, and Slovenia’s Cerklje AB. Closer to the middle east, but also closer to ballistic missile range, are Romania’s Timisoara AB, and Turkey’s Corlu AB. Aviation Week Ares report.

Old AGS: A321 & RQ-4B
(click to view full)

Nov 19/07: A321 out. The USAF announces new studies to define the NATO AGS “core capability resulting from a UAV-only based approach,” and explore options for greater program integration with the USAF’s RQ-4 Global Hawk program. A 2-phase acquisition approach is reportedly still planned, starting with a design, development and demonstration effort and subsequent full-scale production. A week later, a corresponding Flight International report confirms that :

“…[the A321] manned aircraft was deleted from the programme in mid-2007 because of affordability issues and NATO is now pursuing an AGS solution based on Global Hawk with the MP-RTIP sensor.”

Airbus 321… 0

Oct 26/06: NATO reports that the CNAD(Committee of National Armament Directors) agreed to enter into negotiations for the design and development of an Alliance Ground Surveillance system, on the basis of a proposal recently submitted by ASG Industries, while continuing to address a number of important issues in parallel.

Oct 16/06: Proposal. The renamed AGS Industries GmbH partnership announces the submission of its NATO AGS Proposal for the Design and Development Phase. The major objective of the AGS-I Design and Development proposal was to achieve full design maturity for the AGS system, to include the conversion of the Airbus A321 into a high performance mission aircraft.

AGS Industries’ proposal response confirms a EUR 3.3 billion procurement cost ceiling for a NATO AGS core capability, and now places the programme start as an agenda item for action at the upcoming Conference of National Armament Directors (CNAD) meeting at the end of October. The new cost ceiling is achieved by limiting the number of Global Hawk UAVs to 4 (from 7), limiting the number of ground stations, and additional system-wide reductions. See corporate release.

May 26/06: The TIPS consortium formally becomes AGS Industries GmbH, with its main office in EADS Ottobrun, Germany facilities and a second office in Brussels, Belgium near NATO HQ. See corporate release [PDF format].

June 18/04: Sen. Partty Murray [D-WA] represents the state of Washington, where Boeing is a significant force in the economy. She issues a release:

“Senator Patty Murray today expressed concern about the Department of Defense’s handling of the Alliance Ground Surveillance System (AGS) program at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The AGS program is the largest single NATO contract in history. With American taxpayers primed to contribute up to 45 percent of the funding for the new program, Senator Murray called on the Department of Defense to follow their established policy of pursuing more interoperable, more coordinated weapons systems and to consider the consequences to the U.S. aerospace industry of militarizing the Airbus aircraft for the AGS and future NATO requirements.

…Great Britain has opted out of paying for the program, and France and Germany may opt out as well. “Our allies haven’t committed to paying for the AGS program but that hasn’t stopped them from convincing the DoD to fund the largest contract in NATO’s history and new jobs at Airbus. Why would we agree to pay up to $2 billion dollars to militarize an Airbus aircraft for the first time at NATO when the Europeans themselves have not agreed to fund the AGS program,” Senator Murray said.”

Additional Readings & Sources

• NATO – NAGSMA program office page

• NATO (December 2004) – Briefing: Improving capabilities to meet new threats; Item #7: Improving Ground Surveillance

• Northrop Grumman – NATO AGS

• Kongsberg – Alliance Ground Surveillance Program. Note that the presentations and other collateral are all dead links.

• GlobalSecurity.org – Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program. Will include some E-8 JSTARS retrofits, as well as a smaller version on the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. Was also designed for use of the E-8 JSTARS/ E-3 AWACS successor E-10A, but that program was canceled.

• Northrop Grumman – Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP)

• Alliance Ground Surveillance This TIPS consortium site is now defunct.

• DID Spotlight – RQ-4 Euro Hawk UAV Readying for Takeoff. Germany’s SIGINT/ELINT RQ-4B Block 20 variant.

• GlobalSecurity.org – E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS / JSTARS).

• US Air Force Fact Sheets – E-8 JSTARS

• Strategic Review (Fall 2000) – Brittle Swords: Low-Density, High-Demand Assets [42k, PDF]. Helps to explain why systems like AGS that use less expensive platforms for high-demand missions may be a very good idea over the long run.

• Lexington Institute (Sept 10/09) – New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages. Discusses the Block 40 in the context of the USA’s own budget wars.

• AGS Industries GmbH (Oct 16/06) – AGS Industries Submits NATO AGS Proposal for Design and Development Phase

• DID (May 23/06) – Euro-Hawk MoU Signed in Berlin. This covers the Global Hawk derivative Euro-Hawk, which will also add new sensor packages.

• DID (May 17/06) – E-10′s MP-RTIP Ground Surveillance Radar to Test Aboard Proteus.

• eDefense Online (Feb 22/06) – The Eyes of Europe. Subtitled “NATO’s AGS: Europe’s most important military program.” Regrettably, eDefense Online has folded and its archives with it; this article was not archived in Google or the Wayback Machine.

• DID (Oct 27/05) – NATO TIPS-AGS “Eye In the Sky” Consortium Submits Initial Risk Reduction Study

• FloridaToday.com (April 29/05) – Northrop takes first step toward NATO spy plane

• Reuters – NATO Signs Initial ‘Eye in the Sky’ Contract

• Raytheon – (Jan 21/04) – CTAS Consortium Delivers its Report Addressing NATO’s Air to Ground Surveillance Requirements. Its report was delivered from Los Angeles, CA to Brussels onboard a Bombardier Global Express aircraft, which the CTAS consortium recommended as the primary manned platform for AGS. Britain’s ASTOR Sentinel R1 surveillance and electronic eavesdropping aircraft is already based on the Global Express, which has a longer range than the Airbus A321 but less internal volume.

On Jan 3/08, the US DSCA announced [PDF] the United Kingdom’s official request for:

“10 MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) aircraft, 5 Ground Control Stations, 9 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems (MTS-B/AAS-52), 9 AN/APY-8 Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) systems, 3 Satellite Earth Terminal Sub Stations (SETSS), 30 H764 Embedded Global Positioning System Inertial Navigation Systems, Lynx SAR and MTS-B spares, engineering support, test equipment, ground support, operational flight test support, communications equipment, technical assistance, personnel training/equipment, spare and repair parts, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $1.071 billion.”

So, what’s happening? Britain is now using its Reapers in armed mode, and is buying more UAVs within its requested order.

The MQ-9 in RAF Service

MQ-1 vs. MQ-9
(click to view full)

MQ-9 Reaper UAVs are larger than their well-known MQ-1 Predator cousins, with better sensors, far more payload capacity, and the ability to carry a much wider array of weapons.

Britain decided to stand up a Reaper flight in 2007, after early experience with 3 unarmed MQ-9s in Afghanistan were positive. These aircraft form the B Flight of a new UAV squadron, while A flight will comprise the existing RAF detachment within the UK-USAF Joint (MQ-1A) Predator Task Force located at Nellis AFB, NV.

Initially, the British said they were looking at the MQ-9 only as a high-end surveillance drone to complement their mid-range Watchkeeper Mk450 UAVs and short-range Deseert Hawk and RQ-11 Raven UAVs.

That changed as the Reapers began to demonstrate how useful their array of weapons could be, and how much less expensive it was to keep air support on call by operating long-endurance UAVs, instead of less persistent fighter jets that cost GBP 7 – 10 thousand per hour to fly. American MQ-9s fired their first weapons in combat in 2007, conducting a precision Hellfire missile strike in Deh Rawod, Afghanistan, and followed that with a laser-guided bomb drop in the Sangin region.

As of May 2008, British MQ-9s have also been armed.

As of 2013, 1 of Britain’s Reapers has been lost in a crash, and has not been replaced.

Contracts & Key Events

RAF MQ-9, Kandahar
(click to view full)

May 3/13: Brimstone for Reapers? With JAGM fielding still some way off, if ever, the USAF’s 645th Aeronautical Systems Group rapid acquisition office is reportedly interested in adding MBDA’s longer-range, dual laser/ MW radar guided Brimstone missile to the MQ-9′s arsenal. It’s main attraction is a ‘man in the loop’ feature that lets the firing aircraft abort an attack after launch, or correct a missile that locks on the wrong target. In Libya, those characteristics reportedly made it one of the few weapons NATO commanders could use to hit enemy armored vehicles in urban areas.

Brimstone already serves on RAF Tornado GR4 strike jets, and was an option for Britain’s Harrier GR9s before the entire fleet was sold to the US Marines. With Britain’s MQ-9s deployed, they’ve reportedly asked for tests using USAF MQ-9s. With the USA’s JAGM missile program stalled, Britain also hopes to interest American armed services in a longer-range and more versatile weapon. Defense News | Defense Update.

Dec 20/12: Support. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, CA receives a $42.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for Phase 1 and 2 contractor logistics support to the British MQ-9 fleet.

Work will be performed at Poway, CA; Creech AFB, NV; Waddington, United Kingdom; and Afghanistan. Work is expected to be complete by March 31/15. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIIK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the United Kingdom (FA8620-10-G-3038, 0080).

Oct 22/12: All 10 to deploy. The Guardian reports that XIII Squadron being stood up on Oct 26/12 will operate its 5 Reapers from a new control facility at RAFB Waddington. They’ll have 3 control terminals at Waddington, and all 5 UAVs will deploy to Afghanistan. The 5 Reapers already in service there will continue operation from the USAF’s Creech AFB, NV, but Britain wants to consolidate all of its MQ-9 operations to Waddington later on.

XIII Squadron’s deployment will place all 10 British Reapers in Afghanistan. The question is how many of them, if any, will remain there after 2014, when all NATO combat operations are due to end.

Sept 13/12: Support. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, CA receives a $297 million cost plus fixed price, firm-fixed-price and time and materials contract for MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper contractor logistics support. Work will be performed in Poway, CA, and is expected to be complete by Dec 31/12. The ASC/WIIK at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH manages the contract.

The mystery revolves around who it’s for. The original Sept 10/12 release mistakenly said that the contract involved foreign military sales to Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa. The Sept 13/12 “correction” said it involved foreign military sales to the United Kingdom.

GA-ASI, who should know, says that neither of those descriptions is accurate. It finalizes a December 2011 contract to support the USAF and British RAF’s deployed MQ-1 and MQ-9 units, and includes field support representatives at remote sites. General Atomics is already 9 months into fulfilling it, and this is the revised dollar amount (FA8620-10-G-3038, 002403).

May 16/11: 2nd Squadron. RAF Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, announces that Number XIII Squadron will transfer their designation to the RAF’s 2nd Reaper squadron in 2012.

He spoke these words at the squadron’s formal disbandment, less than 2 months after its GR4 Tornados opened the war in Libya by firing Storm Shadow cruise missiles on deep strike missions. UK MoD.

March 31/11: UK subsidiary. A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems UK Ltd (GA-UK) subsidiary is established with an office in London, managed by Dr. Jonny King. Britain has received 6 MQ-9s, and will grow that fleet to 10 as the December 2010 orders arrive. GA-ASI.

Delivered by C-17A
(click to view full)

Dec 7/10: Double up. Prime Minister David Cameron announces that Britain will “double” its current MQ-9 Reaper fleet, under a GBP 135 million (about $213 million) contract. That would complete its initial request for 10 UAVs. UK MoD | Flight International.

Fleet to 10?

Nov 2/10: Britain & France. The “UK-France Summit 2010 Declaration on Defence and Security Co-operation” includes a proviso regarding MALE UAVs:

“16. Unmanned Air Systems have become essential to our armed forces. We have agreed to work together on the next generation of Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Air Surveillance Systems. Co-operation will enable the potential sharing of development, support and training costs, and ensure that our forces can work together. We will launch a jointly funded, competitive assessment phase in 2011, with a view to new equipment delivery between 2015 and 2020.”

As far as existing contenders go, this may weaken EADS’ Talarion even further, and probably gives BAE’s Mantis platform a boost, as BAE is reportedly in talks with Dassault.

Sept 10/10: Deployment. Britain has sent an extra MQ-9 Reaper UAV to Afghanistan:

“This latest addition to the Royal Air Force’s Reaper fleet will allow 39 Squadron to fly multiple Reaper aircraft at any one time over Afghanistan. A total of 36 hours of video surveillance can now be delivered in support of troops on the ground every day of the year, which marks an 80 per cent increase over the past 12 months. Reaper has been supporting ground forces in Afghanistan since October 2007 and has now flown over 13,000 hours in direct support of operations.”

May 19/10: Status. The UK MoD announces that The RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper program has now exceeded 10,000 hours of armed overwatch in support of UK and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The Reapers are flown by 39 Squadron via satellite from a UK operations facility at Creech AFB, NV, USA. Its primary role is surveillance, but from May 2008 the UAVs have been armed with Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. In the last 12 months alone, 39 Squadron has more than doubled its operational flying output, and more RAF MQ-9s are expected to arrive in theater in 2010. UK MoD.

July 15/08: Support. General Atomics and Cobham plc anounce a teaming agreement with Cobham plc to cover whole life support arrangements for Britain’s “GA-ASI products.” This teaming arrangement will initially focus on supporting the UK’s existing MQ-9 Reapers currently in operation with the Royal Air Force (RAF) over Afghanistan.

The MQ-9s are currently the British military’s only significant GA-ASI products. The release says that this arrangement “will develop support solutions that could be used by the UK MoD to offer increased flexibility and sovereignty over existing arrangements.” Immediate dividends will be small, but if competitors fail to match these kinds of arrangements, it could give General Atomics an important advantage as it seeks to sell more MQ-9s to Britain and offer other products like the derivative Mariner maritime UAV or other members of its signature Predator family. GA-ASI release | Cobham release [PDF].

Mantis UCAV
(click to view full)

July 14/08: Mantis vs. Reaper? The UK Ministry of Defence has also entered into a jointly funded 1st phase of the Mantis UAS Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator program with BAE Systems.

The mockup unveiled at the Farnborough 2008 air show shows a UAV that’s clearly in the MQ-9 Reaper’s class, with up to 6 weapons pylons for Paveway IV laser/GPS guided bombs and Brimstone missiles. The design looks less like a high-altitude strike UAV, however, and more like the offspring of the USA’s A-10 “Warthog” battlefield support plane and Argentina’s IA 58 Pucara counter-insurgency aircraft.

BAE will work with the MoD and key UK industrial parties including Rolls-Royce (RB 250 turboprops for now), QinetiQ, GE Aviation, SELEX Galileo and Meggitt, and the design and manufacture of the twin-engine Mantis and associated ground control infrastructure are already underway. Assembly, vehicle ground testing and infrastructure integration testing will take place later in 2008, with first flight currently scheduled for early 2009. BAE release | Flight International | Defense Update | Defense News | Aviation Week | domain-B | WIRED Danger Room.

March 7/08: Jane’s Defence Weekly reported that this request for Reaper UAVs has “not survived the planning round 2008 [PR08] process.” If true, there will be no contract. As subsequent reports show, there was a contract.

Additional Readings

• DID Insider – MQ-9 Reaper: The First Operational UCAV?

• Australia’s Herald-Sun (Nov 25/10) – Video footage of moment airman blasted Taliban bomb factory from Nevada

• The Sun (Nov 25/10) – Enemy bomber is turned ‘to mist’. Do fear the Reaper… includes video.

• DID (Sept 26/06) – The Major’s Email: British Harrier Support in Afghanistan, Revisited. The Major’s complaints re: close air support, and the relative performance of American A-10s in theater, raise questions about the need for an aircraft dedicated to the battlefield support niche. Could UAVs like the Reaper and/or Mantis fill that role?